


Sins Of The Brother

by AiyanaNyx



Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Angst, Biting, Bondage and Discipline, Candles, Child Neglect, Childhood Memories, Childhood Sexual Abuse, Choking, Collars, Depression, F/M, Forced Orgasm, Forced Relationship, Masturbation in Shower, Past Child Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Shower Sex, Size Difference, Stockholm Syndrome, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Torture, Watching Someone Sleep, Whipping, Xyrophobia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-23
Updated: 2015-11-15
Packaged: 2018-04-10 21:12:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 33,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4407872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AiyanaNyx/pseuds/AiyanaNyx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ravenna Nokomis knew that her brother's constant bragging about being the new World Heavyweight Champion was eventually going to attract the wrong attention. Rowan Nokomis knew that his sister's flawed beauty was eventually going to attract the wrong attention. But neither of them knew just how wrong said attention would be...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Eight Weeks Ago

**Author's Note:**

> If you've come over here from FFN, you're already familiar with the characters Rowan and Ravenna Nokomis. But the version on FFN was like swiss cheese to me because I had to cut so much out of it to make sure that it didn't violate FFN's rating guidelines (and believe me, it was pretty close to being removed more than once.). FINALLY it has come to AO3.  
> This story takes place in 2006 (When Eric Bischoff was still GM), and the wrestling characters are real. Meaning what you see on TV is exactly what you're getting. (Hopefully that makes sense and I apologize in advance if it doesn't. ^_^; )
> 
> I do not own any WWE characters mentioned or appearing in this story. Ravenna, Rowan, and any other original characters that may show up belong to me. Please do not use them without my permission. 
> 
> Please enjoy _Sins Of The Brother_!

_What the hell was I thinking_ , Rowan Nokomis couldn't help but think as he kicked out of a pin by The Miz. _Of all the matches in the world and I end up in a Triple Threat_ _/Hell in a Cell match._ He almost wanted to find Eric Bischoff and beat some sense into him for concocting such a thing. _It's your own fault you know,_ Rowan reminded himself. It was true though. Rowan had spent too long in the jobber status. It wasn't that he didn't feel like he had to earn his place in the rankings. Rather, Rowan felt that he had done more than proved himself capable in the ring. He'd taken everything that people had thrown at him and triumphed a few times to show that he was championship material. Now, having just turned 19, Rowan felt that he was more than ready to show that it was finally his time. And this time, he didn't want to get thrown into another match that would result in him getting dropped on his head _twice_. He still had a headache after that.

Bischoff hadn't seen it that way, but nonetheless granted him an opportunity to silence the naysayers. What he neglected to mention was what kind of match this was.

Despite all the eyes that were on him as Rowan literally fought for his life, he was acutely aware of only one pair that looked up at him through the cage surrounding the ring- the dark eyes of his twin sister Ravenna. Rowan spared a glance to her and grinned as he quickly countered a DDT from Miz once more. Ravenna's brow furrowed for a moment at seeing this happen, but otherwise gave Rowan a smile in return as she paced outside the cage, rearranging the length of black cloth that hid the left side of her face, with the exception of her eye, from the world nervously. Rowan knew if she had her way, Ravenna would be in there with him, helping to make sure he won his match. But the odds still wouldn't have been in his favor. There were two others who were eagerly hopeful for the opportunity to be crowned World Champion; the Miz, and the Big Red monster Kane. _Maybe later, little sis,_ Rowan thought, throwing The Miz into the ropes and taking him out with a clothesline before picking the annoying bastard up and throwing him directly into the path of Kane.

He inwardly laughed at that thought. _Little sister?_ That was true, in a sense. But despite being born six minutes before Ravenna, people liked to think that Rowan was the younger sibling. The differences in their personalities, however, made others think that they were in no way related. Rowan was outgoing, charming, and too friendly for his own good. He always had a smile on his face and had made quite a few friends with the Divas and male superstars alike. Rowan enjoyed giving audience members high fives, always greeting people as though he had known them all his life.

Ravenna, on the other hand, was the complete opposite.

Where Rowan was kind to all, Ravenna treated everyone with cool courtesy. She rarely spoke to anyone outside the ring and when she did it was only when she was a tag team partner. Rowan also noticed that Ravenna didn't seem to have very many friends, if you could even call them that. The only people that Ravenna spoke to, besides him, was Jazz and sometimes Victoria. How she could stand Victoria was a mystery to him. But Ravenna seemed to like her and they got along well, possibly because they both liked rock music. Jazz, however, was more of an older sister to Ravenna than anything; when the younger Nokomis twin finally debuted, she'd had the kindness to take the young Diva under her wing and show her the ins and outs of the ring. it was indeed surprising, but secretly he was glad that Ravenna had found at least one friend that she could spend time with. Rowan had no idea what they had in common, but his sister seemed to genuinely care about the older Diva, so he never said anything about it.

Rowan was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts after observing Miz be knocked out cold by Kane. He thought the big red monster would go for the cover, but when both men caught each others stares, Rowan knew that Kane had other ideas. He glanced to Ravenna to see her look of pride for him turn into one of worry. Ravenna looked from him to Kane, almost to ask if there was some mistake in this change of events. Her dark eyes suddenly widened as she glanced at the ominous figure approaching her twin.

'Rowan, look out!" she called. Rowan turned, but was too late to move as he was grabbed by his throat. An equally strong hand grabbed hold of a thick wrist in an attempt to pry it off. Dark gray met a pale blue and dark brown set of orbs as a sadistic grin came to Kane's face. Ravenna, on the other hand, was trying her best to get into the cage, clearly distressed at the turn of events. Honestly now, what the hell was Bischoff thinking putting Kane and Rowan in a Hell in a Cell match? Didn't he learn from the last time? She glanced up at Kane, and a chill went down her spine at the look on his face. Ravenna grabbed hold of the cage door, shaking it as though it would open that way, but it wouldn't have anyways. One of the referees had padlocked it shut to ensure no one could get in or out, as per Bischoff's sadistic orders.

As she watched her brother helplessly, Ravenna's mind began to wander back to the conversation between herself and Rowan mere moments before she accompanied him out to the ring...

_'You know, you could talk about it," Ravenna murmured as they walked along the white hallway. Rowan had been silent since they came to the arena. Her twin glanced at her for several long moments and grabbed her arm to stop her._

_'Ravenna, has anyone... been bothering you as of late?" Rowan asked when Ravenna finally stopped. She must have had a strange look on her face when her brother sighed. 'I mean, besides fans, have you noticed anyone following you? Anyone that you've never seen before?" Ravenna shook her head._

_'No," she answered honestly. 'Why?" Rowan hesitated. Ravenna sighed impatiently. Rowan wasn't the first person to have asked her this; first it was just Victoria who had tried to get her to share a room with her. Lita, who never spoke to Ravenna except to taunt her mercilessly, now tried to engage her in conversation. And Trish, who was bitchy to everyone, suddenly gave her a smile every now and then. Even the guys were acting weird- Kurt Angle before wanted nothing to do with her, but now he was always insisting on walking her to her dressing room and locker. Val Venis sometimes stopped by to check on her if she didn't come out of the locker room for awhile, and even more recently, Jeff Hardy was offering to give her a ride to and from the arena every night._

_Briefly, she'd wondered if it was something to do with Rowan wanting her to be more social with everyone._ He must be talking again _, she thought to herself. Ravenna hated it when people did that. She didn't want to be friends with anyone except for Jazz and Victoria. She didn't need the drama that came with surrounding yourself with too many people._

 _'Rowan, what's wrong?" she asked. Again, that same hesitation festered in her twin's eyes as he looked away. When he refused to meet her gaze, Ravenna_ almost _lost it. 'For the love of Christ, what is wrong with everyone nowadays? You're acting like you know something I don't. Don't get me wrong, it was nice for a little while actually having someone talk to me without freaking out about me kicking their ass, but now it's gone too far. And, might I add, annoying. Now tell me what the hell-"_

_'You need to stop coming to the ring with me, Ravenna." Rowan interrupted. Ravenna stared at him in disbelief._

_'What? Why?" Rowan looked away again and then back into his sister's dark eyes._

_'Do you remember that match I had with Kane last week?" Ravenna nodded, motioning for Rowan to get to the point. 'He wasn't too happy that he lost against me, and since then, there's been rumors floating around that him and Bischoff worked out some kinda deal to make sure he wins tonight. I didn't want to think anything else of it, but then I found this under my door," Rowan finished, handing Ravenna a folded piece of paper that he seemed to have produced from thin air. Ravenna looked to the paper and then to her brother's face, one of her eyebrows arched._

_'I got to say Rowan, I never thought I would see the day that you would freak out over a piece of paper." Ravenna commented, plucking the paper out of Rowan's grasp and looking it over critically._

_'It's not the paper that's got me worried Ravenna. It's what's written on it that's bothering me." Dark gray met equally dark grey in that instant. Curious, Ravenna broke her stare and opened the neatly folded paper. Sure enough, someone had left a message seemingly directed at Rowan:_

You should never have asked for this match.

 _Ravenna looked from Rowan to the note, refusing to show the uneasiness filling her gut. It wasn't the words that made her such, however, but it was the familiarity of the handwriting itself. She_ knew _this style of writing for somewhere, but from where? Surely it couldn't be from... Rowan reached out and touched her arm, sensing something wrong with his twin._

_'Ravenna, listen to me: don't come out to the ring. Just stay away from me until all of this blows over. I don't want anything to happen to you." Rowan murmured. Ravenna shook her head, blue black hair swinging behind her and a couple stubborn strands sticking to the bit of black material on the left side of her face._

_'I'm not going anywhere, Rowan. I'm not going to let a little note freak me out. And I can handle myself just fine in and out of the ring. I don't need anyone to protect me." Ravenna grumbled stubbornly. Rowan closed his eyes and shook his head._

_'I was afraid you would say that," he began. 'But alright. If you're serious about this, then I'm not going to argue with you about it." Rowan finished as they both fell into step again. Ravenna gave him another look and sighed._

_'We never argue," she began. 'At least we didn't before you got paranoid."_

Time seemed to move in slow motion as Ravenna watched Kane chokeslam Rowan over the ropes and onto the hard mats surrounding the ring. Rowan hit the side of the cage as he fell, Ravenna running to his side the moment he hit the ground.

'Get up, Rowan!" she urged, watching Kane climb over the ropes and rummage around underneath the ring for something. 'Rowan! Get up! Now!" Rowan only groaned in protest, shaking the fog from around his mind as Kane found what he was looking for and set his sights on the fallen Nokomis.


	2. Ill Tidings

Ravenna glanced from her fallen brother to the fast approaching Kane, urging Rowan to get to his feet quickly by slipping her small hand through the cage and violently nudging his hard shoulder. Rowan groaned again as he managed to get up on all fours, then forcing himself onto his feet at Ravenna's urging. _Perfect timing,_ Ravenna thought to herself as Rowan turned and narrowly dodged the steel chair in the hands of the big red monster. She winced at how close that was. In the hands of Kane, chairs may as well be weapons of mass destruction.

From her kneeling position, Ravenna could hear Kane's angry breathing drowning out the screaming fans behind her. Rowan had managed to get back into the ring, still trying to recover quickly from the chokeslam he'd received moments before. Ravenna herself got to her feet, clutching the warm metal of the cage in both hands and watching on as Rowan simply laid on his belly breathing heavily.

'Get up, Rowan!" Ravenna shouted, suddenly regretting having spoken as Kane's misallied eyes suddenly came to rest on her small frame. Her darker eyes looked into his, her breath suddenly caught up in her throat. The piercing left eye seemed to almost glow with anger, but slowly she watched it turn into something else as Kane stared deep into her eyes. Time seemed to move in slow motion until Kane looked from her to Rowan, seemingly trying to determine what they were to each other. A sick smile came to his face as he glanced once more to Ravenna before suddenly turning away from her. Shivers ran down Ravenna's spine as she watched him climb into the ring, not quite sure what those shivers really were- fear perhaps? No, not fear, Ravenna quickly deduced. There wasn't any room for fear within her... was there?

She was quickly snapped from her thoughts as she watched Kane pick Rowan up with ease in one hand, looking from her twin brother and back to Ravenna, almost to observe her reaction. Damn it to hell, Ravenna gripped the cage's wall tighter in her grasp as she watched helplessly as her brother was once again chokeslammed. _Get up Rowan! Please get up,_ Ravenna silently urged, her brother's stronger form lying motionless on the mat of the ring. Not wasting any more time, Kane went for the cover all the while watching Ravenna's face.

One...

Two..

In the nick of time, Rowan somehow found the strength to kick out at two and a half. Kane sat up in frustration, getting to his feet and looking back down at Ravenna, almost as if she had something to do with it. Ravenna stared back at him and then glanced behind him to see Rowan getting to his feet. Ravenna suddenly had an idea as she once again met Kane's gaze. Behind Kane, Rowan was finally standing to his full height, the dark eyes he shared with Ravenna obscured by equally dark hair. Kane's back was turned to him, but for how long he would stay that way was completely dependent on what she did next. _If I can just keep his attention long enough..._

Seemingly from nowhere, The Miz cut between both Ravenna and Kane, immediately getting Kane's attention for a moment as Miz yelled something about him being a monster before climbing up onto the apron only to be knocked right back off to the floor...

But that moment was all Rowan needed as he went straight towards the monster fearlessly and turned him around only to clock in him the face with a hard punch. When Kane swayed, Rowan took that chance to pick him up onto his shoulders, holding one of his legs in one arm and his head in the other. Taking on 323 pounds was a feat in itself, but Rowan took no chances as he dropped to a seated position, effectively driving Kane's head into the surface of the ring- the Nevermore, a move he shared with his twin sister. Kane remained where he was as Rowan rolled away without a sound, effectively knocked out. Now it was Rowan's turn to go for the cover. Ravenna held her breath as the count began.

One...

Two...

Three!

The bell rang and Rowan excitedly got to his feet as the crowd cheered wildly. Ravenna grinned proudly at her brother as a ref came round to unlock the cage to let out Rowan and the now conscious, but very upset, Miz. Rowan scooped his twin sister into his arms as his theme song- Turn It Up by his favorite band Silverline- blared on the huge speakers overhead. Both of them laughing, Rowan and Ravenna grinned at each other as the ring announcer suddenly spoke.

'Here is your winner, and the new World Heavyweight Champion, Rowan Nokomis!" At the sound of his name, fans everywhere screamed louder in gleeful harmony as Rowan was presented with the World Championship belt. The moment it passed from the referee's hands and into his own was a surreal moment for the older twin. Not only had he just won one of the most dangerous matches, he'd also won his very first World Championship. It was like a dream.

'You did it," Ravenna yelled over the roaring crowd and music, following her brother up the entrance ramp. Rowan smiled once again.

'Not without a little luck from my favorite sister," Rowan teased, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and kissing her forehead.

'You mean your _only_ sister," Ravenna replied, sparing a glance back to the ring. All the happiness she had just felt quickly disintegrated as she stared back at the angry form of Kane. _He's already back up after the Nevermore? Is that even possible,_ Ravenna thought. Even from where she was standing, Ravenna could clearly see a look of absolute hate and anger brewing in those mismatched eyes of Kane's. Looking away quickly before she attracted the attention of her brother, Ravenna shook her head and continued to follow her twin through the black curtain leading backstage, unable to shake the feeling deep in her gut and the thought in her head that this wasn't over with Kane by a long shot.

 

* * *

 

The light were bright and damn near blinding when Ravenna finally stepped into the ring an hour later, dodging a punch from Stacy Keibler. Ravenna countered with an uppercut, hitting the blonde square in the mouth. Stacy staggered for a moment, then fell to her knees. Ravenna took this opportunity to run towards the ropes before bouncing off of them and drop kicking her right in the face, grinning maliciously at the sound of her head connecting with the ebony haired Diva's boot. Just as she predicted, Stacy fell sideways, giving Ravenna a chance to go for the cover. The second she hooked Stacy's leg, the ref hit the mat and started the count.

One...

Two...

Somehow, the blonde managed to get either her shoulders up or kick out of the hold. Ravenna was too pissed off to remember exactly which.

'Bad move, bitch," Ravenna growled at the blonde, pulling her up to her feet and backing off to one corner before climbing to the top rope. Balancing her weight carefully, Ravenna watched Stacy stagger into just the right spot before launching herself into the air. She soared through the air for but a moment before landing a vicious dropkick to the blonde's head- the Widowmaker. It served it's purpose and knocked Stacy out cold, but Ravenna must have over stretched her legs for a shooting pain in her right leg took her by complete surprise. Ravenna had no way of knowing for certain what went wrong, but there was no time to ponder on it. Grimacing in pain, Ravenna ignored it and drug herself to Stacy's fallen form to once again pin the blonde.

One...

Two...

Three.

 _Finally_ , Ravenna thought as she released her hold on Stacy and rolled to the side, one hand clad in a black arm warmer reaching for her injured knee as her own entrance them played. She sat up and carefully felt it through her pants, assessing the damage. 

She didn't register exactly when the fire from the stage suddenly erupted, nor when the lights went red all around her. It wasn't until Ravenna noticed that she was alone in the ring and Stacy was hauling ass through the crowds (how she was moving around after being knocked out was a mystery to Ravenna) that she turned to see a familiar figure coming to the ring with a smirk on his face.

_Kane!_

_What does he want now,_ Ravenna thought as she pulled herself up to her feet. Instantly, her knee gave out beneath Ravenna followed by a burning sensation. _Well isn't that just fucking perfect,_ she mused, wincing at the thumping pain. Backing up and away from the center of the ring as best as she was able, Ravenna watched as Kane made his way towards the squared circle. She made a move to roll out, but quickly banished such an idea from her mind. Even if she did manage to get out, there was no way Ravenna could walk out of the arena without aid or injuring herself further. _Kane picked a damn good time to come out here,_ Ravenna decided with sarcasm as Kane pulled himself up and over the top rope with ease, staring down at her with a strange expression that Ravenna could not name even if she tried.

The seven foot man walked closer and closer to her until Kane was just inches away from Ravenna, close enough that she could have reached out and touched him provided she wanted to. The almost black orbs of Ravenna's stared up into the misallied eyes of Kane, taking in the obvious differences in size. She never broke her gaze from him even as the big red monster crouched down so that he was on Ravenna's current eye level. The air between them seemed to freeze as the staring continued.

When someone finally moved it was Kane, for Ravenna felt cemented to where she sat in the corner. Ravenna finally broke her stare from Kane to see that he had extended a hand to her. She glanced from his larger hand and back to Kane's face as though to ask what this was about. A touch that sent jolts of electricity through her body to her injured knee caused Ravenna to shiver reflexively. Kane blinked in surprise, anger flashing in those piercing orbs of his for a brief moment until he realized that it was involuntary on Ravenna's part. _He knows that I'm hurt,_ Ravenna suddenly realized as she watched Kane's gaze turn to her knee, that strong hand of his turning her leg this way and that carefully, inspecting it. _I don't exactly need his help, but alright I guess._

The more she was subjected to this, the more Ravenna began to relax as she realized that Kane was not intentionally trying to hurt her. But she was careful not to let her guard down too much; she knew that all of this could turn violent in a matter of seconds if he got pissed, especially after what happened with her brother... But no such thing occurred as Kane finally released his hold on her leg, uninterested. That gaze of his finally made its way to Ravenna's face again and extended his hand once more to her. Her heart racing and still feeling the effects of his touch, Ravenna hesitantly reached to take his hand...

She'd just touched the black leather of his glove covering his left hand before Ravenna was jerked backwards unexpectedly through the bottom ropes and into the arms of another, her hand slipping away from Kane's. Ravenna twisted her head to see who was taking it upon themselves to 'rescue' her. Rowan was looking down at her in concern as he quickly backed away from the ring with Ravenna in tow. He shifted her weight to hold her more closely before heading towards the entrance ramp. When he did this, Ravenna was able to glance over his shoulder to see Kane staring after them, the same look he had given them earlier that night now being directed at them once again. She blinked her eyes slowly and looked away, the same feeling she'd had just minutes earlier back in full force.

 

* * *

 

The rain's mist was warm and refreshing despite the downpour outside as Ravenna leaned against the balcony railing at the hotel room she shared with Rowan. Inside, he was sound asleep having always found rain relaxing. He earned that rest. Ravenna, on the other hand, felt wide awake despite knowing that she needed to get some rest; after medical staff had checked out her knee, Ravenna learned that she hadn't torn her ACL or anything serious at that. The doctors seemed to agree that she had only overextended her knee. Exhaustion was the one of the reasons she couldn't stand, pain being the other. Usually she could come back from pain quickly, a habit she'd picked up from Jazz--

Her cellphone suddenly rang, effectively pulling Ravenna out of her vigilant stare of the landscape suddenly. _Speak of the devil,_ she thought as Ravenna flipped the top of her phone and held it to her ear. 'Hello?"

'Hey girl!" Jazz's cheerful voice said. 'I heard what happened out there in the ring tonight. That knee of yours doing alright?"

'It's just fine, thanks for asking," Ravenna replied. 'The medical staff told me that I should give it a couple days to heal up, but I'll live to stretch it out another day."

'You wouldn't have that issue if you didn't pull all those crazy high flyin' acts of yours," Jazz answered. 'You're a pro wrestler, not a circus girl! That could have ended much worse..." Ravenna could practically hear Jazz shiver on the other line. 'So anyways, I was wondering- how would you feel about ditching Rowan for a couple hours and meeting me in the lobby? I just found a great restaurant that has our names all over it!" Ravenna ignored the comment about Rowan and laughed a bit.

'Sounds pretty good. I haven't had anything to eat since before Raw," Ravenna agreed, her stomach rumbling in approval. 'I'm going to jump in the shower first before I go anywhere."

'Sounds like a plan, Rave," Jazz answered. 'I need a shower myself. I'll see you in a little."

'Right. Bye," Ravenna murmured as she flipped the phone closed. 'Rave? Seriously?" Jazz sure did have a way with picking out nicknames. She shook her head and opened the sliding door to the hotel room. The cool air from the air conditioner was a shock to her warm skin. Honestly, how could Rowan sleep with it so cold in here? Cracking her neck, Ravenna tossed her phone on her still made bed and made her way to the shower, trying her best not to limp. _It's not gonna get any better being immobile._

Twenty minutes later, she was dressed in her favorite black jeans and tank-top with a black leather jacket. Brushing her hair out, Ravenna thought she would just let it fall free since there was no point in pulling it back if the humidity was only going to frizz it out. She spread some kohl eyeliner and shadow across her eyelids and a touch of red lip color before writing a quick note to Rowan in case he woke up:

_Went to dinner with Jazz. Be back later_

_Ravenna_

With a last look at her brother's still sleeping form, Ravenna slipped back into her boots and grabbed her messenger bag before slipping out into the hallway being sure to close the door quietly.

 

* * *

 

'If you thought any louder, I'd be able to hear you," Jazz commented with a laugh as she twisted a rusty brown curl around one finger, catching the young Native American hybrid's attention. 'Everything alright over there? You look like you've seen better days." Ravenna managed a rare smile, however weak, for the older Diva.

'Is that right?" she murmured, taking a sip of Coke as Jazz laughed quietly.

'Well, it's pretty hard to tell what you're thinking since no sounds ever come out of you, but I think I've gotten the hang of figuring out when something's on your mind." Ravenna rolled her eyes and laughed a bit.

'However can you do that?" Ravenna joked causing a great bout of giggling from Jazz. The darker skinned Diva twisted some noodles onto her silver fork and popped it into her mouth before giving Ravenna a knowing look.

'Well for one, you stare into space when you're thinking. And then you get a weird look in your eyes, like you're contemplating killing the next thing that walks right in front of you." Ravenna had to admit that she was a little stunned.

'You're good," she replied. 'Anything else?" Jazz paused from talking to take another drink. A deft shake of her head informed Ravenna that Jazz either couldn't think of a comeback or just didn't want to talk about it anymore.

'You've not been acting like yourself since what happened back in the ring tonight too," Jazz added unexpectedly. Ravenna glanced up from her plate.

'That obvious, huh?" she murmured, setting down her fork and crossing her arms on the table. Manners be damned, she put her elbows up there too. Jazz could tell the matter was clearly disturbing the young Diva by her body language alone. Comfortingly, she put a hand on one of Ravenna's.

'Wanna talk about it?" she asked in a soft voice. Ravenna's dark eyes blinked slowly as they slid to the left before wandering back up into Jazz's equally dark eyes.

'Jazz, if I tell you this, can I trust that word won't get back to Rowan?" Jazz nodded which Ravenna soon mimicked. 'Before his match, Rowan showed me a note that someone had left under his door a couple hours before he went on. I don't know who wrote it, but it freaked him out pretty bad. So much that he must've told some of the other Superstars and Divas about it because some are starting to act a little stranger than usual. For instance, Val Venis actually comes by my room and asks me how I'm doing and even Brooke is trying to talk to me. I mean, since when has she ever done that?"

'I've talked to Brooke sometimes," Jazz added quietly, indicating for Ravenna to go on.

'That's not the half of it. Trish Stratus is actually talking too, and not her usual bitchery either." Jazz almost spit her drink up at this.

'She's actually _talking_ instead of bitching? Damn, something's definitely up if that blonde bitch is being nice to you."

'My point exactly. Rowan should have known that people would be quick to talk and judge what was going on, but him being him..." Ravenna's voice faded off for a minute, thinking that she had caught a glimpse of someone observing Jazz and her for a moment, but shook it off after Jazz gave her a questioning stare. 'But anyways, Rowan thinks that Kane or Bischoff was one that left the note after what happened last week when Rowan won a match against him. Personally I just think that it was just someone trying to intimidate him and Rowan's getting paranoid about nothing. All it said was 'You should never have stepped into the ring.' There's no proof that Kane wrote it anyways..."

'That's true; there's no proof that Kane was the one that wrote it," Jazz pointed out. 'But take into consideration what happened tonight, sweetie. Say that he was the one that left that note. And say that tonight was just the beginning and Kane was just getting it across to Rowan that shit's about to get real?" Ravenna toyed with her Fettuccine Alfredo and then took a big bite, refusing to let Jazz know how much her words were making her think.

'As much as I hate to admit it, if he's going to do something, it's going to be soon. The last two times I was out there, he looked like he was ready to kill Rowan." Ravenna added, taking Jazz by surprise.

'No way," Ravenna nodded. 'It's starting to look like people are forgetting that he's more than a sore loser; Kane's a fucking monster, for Christ's sake!"

'Monster?" She said, merely humoring Jazz. 'Is that what they're calling men over seven feet tall that like to Tombstone and chokeslam other guys for the entertainment of thousands?" Jazz shook her head and put both of her hands over Ravenna's.

'You're missing my point, Ravenna," Jazz explained. 'What you saw tonight was just a taste of what Kane is capable of. Haven't you even heard the stories?" Ravenna cocked a dark eyebrow at the woman sitting across the table from her. Jazz sighed and threw her hands in the air.

'Lord have mercy, girl! This is why it pays to actually talk to people every now and then!" she exclaimed before continuing in a softer voice. 'Alright, I don't know how much of this is actually true. Way back before you and Rowan came onto the scene, the Undertaker's manager Paul Bearer showed up randomly with Kane, who turned out being Undertaker's half brother. Word has it that the Undertaker's family died in a fire, but Kane somehow survived. Paul hid him in an insane asylum for half his life after the accident.

'Sometime during that, I guess he just went batshit crazy and had this obsession with fire. Be glad your brother didn't fight him when _that_ was going on. Trust me, it was scary as hell watching him carry on like that. He's a psychopath Ravenna. It's just not a good idea to be involved or be around him, much less even talk to the guy. That's why everyone's worried about you and your brother, Ravenna. We've been around Kane for longer than both of you have. We've seen what he can do and we've seen how dangerous he is." Jazz finished. Ravenna stared at her for the longest time, letting her words sink in. _Psychopath? Monster? This all sounds like something straight from a horror film,_ she thought.

'Jazz," Ravenna started. 'I appreciate the concern, but honestly, I can handle myself. But remember; we don't know for _sure_ that Kane was the one that wrote the note. Like I said, it could just be someone-"

'Ravenna, what part of what I just said did you not hear? Think about it; your brother is one of the nicest guys in and out of the ring. He even makes sure that the people he beats are OK before he even leaves the ring at the end of a match. Why in the world would anyone want to intimidate him? Not even Big Show would raise a hand against your brother except in a match. That just leaves Kane!" Jazz was only trying to get her point across to Ravenna when she raised her voice slightly. The younger of the two instantly grew quiet and began staring at Jazz in an odd way. A way that sent chills down Jazz's spine and caused fear to well in her gut. 'Do you see my point, Ravenna? This isn't just anyone we're talking about. This is a sick son of a bitch that likes suffering, day in and day out." she added in a softer voice. That look in Ravenna's eyes faded bit by bit, and Jazz couldn't help but feel like she'd just narrowly avoided an ass kicking by Ravenna.

Both women fell into silence as they finished their dinners, the chattering and laughs from other patrons a welcome distraction for Jazz and an annoyance to Ravenna as she answered a few texts from some of Rowan's friends.

'You know, if things get bad with Kane, you're more than welcome to crash at my place Ravenna. I'm sure Rowan would want you to be somewhere safe for awhile." Jazz suddenly said. Ravenna glanced up to her from her phone. She nodded.

'I'll keep that in mind," Ravenna said quietly, looking back at her phone. Jazz felt a little guilty for raising her voice to Ravenna, especially since it always brought back painful memories for her. Jazz remembered the time that Ravenna talked about what happened with her parents after some questioning about the veil that Ravenna never took off of her face. But she knew better than to bring it up; talking about Ravenna's face and family were two topics you were better off not bringing up. Unless you had a death wish, anyways.

Another small bout of silence fell amongst the women as Ravenna answered a new text from Samantha, her older brother and UFC fighter Cole's wife, that was informing her that Cole had won his match that night. Ravenna answered back with her congratulations, letting her know that she and Rowan had also won their matches that night and mentioning the fact that all of them needed to see each again soon. The she noticed that it was getting pretty late at night. It was hard to believe that it was already pushing midnight. Flipping the phone closed, Ravenna shoved it into her messenger bag and brushed her hair out of her face.

'I hate to run Jazz, but I better get back to the hotel. I need to get some sleep anyways." Ravenna said as she stood and left her half of the bill.

'Sure you don't want me to come with you? Just to make sure no one bothers you?" Jazz asked with a concerned look in her eyes. Ravenna shook her head.

'No thanks. I can handle myself." When the concerned look in Jazz's eyes didn't go away, Ravenna sighed and quickly added, 'Look, I'll send you a text when I get there, ok? Just to let you know I made it." Ravenna promised as Jazz stood to hug the younger girl goodbye.

'Be careful, Ravenna," Jazz whispered. 'And remember what I said about Kane, ok? Stay out his way."

'Thanks Jazz," Ravenna answered, picking up her bag and heading for the door. The rain had nearly stopped by the time she had opened the door and stepped out. Just as she had predicted, Ravenna's hair was frizzy and everywhere. _Oh well,_ Ravenna thought as she inspected a strand of hair carefully. _Need to trim my dead ends anyways._ Tossing the strand behind her, Ravenna wrapped her jacket around her more fully and commenced the fifteen minute walk back to the hotel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those wondering about what the Nevermore is, it's basically a belly-to-back piledriver. Kinda like Sheamus' White Noise. 
> 
> Please feel free to leave comments and kudos! And as always, thanks for reading! ^w^/


	3. Missing

Morning came harsher than Rowan would've liked. The bright rays of the sun poured through the glass door of the balcony, no longer obscured by the tan curtains...

 _Wait, what?_ Rowan thought, lifting his sleepy head and brushing his black hair out and away from his face. Sure enough, they were open. He rubbed his eyes a few times to clear the sleep from them, his body sore and stiff. As it was something to expect when one signed up to become a professional wrestler, Rowan shook it off. Nothing that a nice hot shower and some stretching couldn't help fix.

Rowan spared a glance over to the second queen bed in the room that belonged to Ravenna for the remainder of their stay. His twin had a habit of sleeping in any chance that she got and would sleep so deeply that a bomb could go off and not wake her up. Rowan on the other hand could wake up at the sound of a pin drop and not fall back to sleep for hours. He sometimes wondered if twin genetics had a sense of humor sometimes.

And so it both surprised and shocked Rowan when he noticed that her bed was empty.

He quickly climbed out of bed, throwing the covers off and away from him. It was still made as though Ravenna had never been there at all. Knowing Ravenna, if she had even been there that night, she would have closed the curtains before bed. She couldn't have left already either; her black duffel bag that contained her wrestling attire and everyday clothes was still at the foot of her bed where she had left it. Her messenger bag, however, was no where to be seen.

 _Could she have gone out and stayed with someone_ , Rowan wondered, his dark eyes resting on a note in Ravenna's familiar handwriting near the phone. He reached out and picked it up.

'Went to dinner with Jazz. Be back later, huh?" Rowan read aloud, replacing the note to its original resting place. 'If you were coming back later, then where the hell are you Ravenna?" Rowan grumbled. The note should have reassured Rowan in the knowledge that she was with Jazz more than likely. But the sense of dread that was building in his gut was saying otherwise. Deciding it wouldn't hurt to call her just to be sure, Rowan made his way towards the nightstand situated between both beds and picked up his black cell phone. He punched in Ravenna's number and held it up to his ear.

'We're sorry. The number you have dialed is not in the service area." the automated voice on the other line said. Rowan's brow furrowed as he hung up. _Not in the service area_? He tried once again and again. Each time, he got the same message. _I don't like where this is going,_ Rowan pondered, chewing his lip (He cursed how easily Ravenna impressed the nervous habit onto him.). Not wasting another minute, Rowan quickly scrolled through his contacts and found Jazz's number. Impatiently, he started pacing back and forth until the Diva's familiar voice finally answered.

'Jazz, is Ravenna in your room?" he asked, ignoring her cheery 'good morning'. Jazz grew quiet suddenly.

'She's not there?" she asked.

'She's _not_ here," he managed to say. 'I've been trying to get in touch with her all morning, but she's not "in the service area" according to her phone."

'I'm sorry Rowan, but I haven't seen her since last night at dinner." Rowan's heart dropped when he heard this.'This isn't like her, Rowan. Ravenna may like to go off on her own sometimes, but not without letting you or myself know where she is." Jazz continued. 'Unless..."

'Unless what?" Rowan pleaded, unable to contain his worry anymore. He was silently praying the older Diva knew something that would lead him to Ravenna. Jazz hesitated. 'What's going on, Jazz? Did she tell you she was leaving last night?"

'Rowan, I promised Ravenna I wouldn't say anything, but given the circumstances it's looking like I have no choice. She told me last night that after you won your match, she looked back and saw Kane looking at you like he was ready to kill. He did the same thing too when you carried her out of the ring."

'I know about that," Rowan said impatiently. 'She was quieter than usual after that."

'I think he has something to do with this, Rowan."

'Who?"

'Kane." All color drained from Rowan's face as his mind wandered back to the note he had found last night. _You should never have asked for this match..._ 'I don't want to point fingers, but more than likely he has a hand in this. You've beat him twice, and the second time you took what he wants: the World Heavyweight Championship belt. Ravenna was out there when you won and it's no secret that you and her are close." Jazz explained in a steady voice. Rowan's mind was in a whir as he tried to make sense of everything, trying to find another explanation for it. But the more that he processed Jazz's words, the more sense that they made. On the other hand, it wouldn't do to accuse anyone without good reason.

'We don't have any proof that he's got something to do with this," Rowan said after a moment. 'It's true that it's not wine and roses with myself and Kane, but I don't want to confront him about it...yet. I'm going to wait and see if Ravenna turns up on her own." Jazz made a shocked sound on the other line.

'Are you _sure_ that's a good idea?"

'I'll give her two hours to get back to me. If she doesn't I'll let you know. Until then, let me know if she calls you," Rowan replied as he closed his phone, not giving Jazz a chance to reply. Despite how calm he may have sounded, inside Rowan was worrying himself to death. He didn't want to thinking about what would happen if Ravenna didn't return. Rowan sat down on his bed and looked out the balcony doors as the rays of the bright morning sun warmed the landscape outside.

'Please come back, Ravenna." Rowan prayed. 'Please be safe, wherever you are."

 

* * *

 

Everything was cold and dark when Ravenna opened her eyes again, her vision blurry. She managed to sit up with a groan only to be assaulted instantly with a headache. _Where the hell am I,_ she wondered, realizing that she was not in her hotel room. All Ravenna could remember was walking back to the hotel, and then someone grabbing her from behind. She must have fought like hell judging from the cuts and bruises forming on her knuckles, before everything went dark... The room itself was close to empty; the only furniture she could see was a small nightstand to her right and a small twin bed that she had awoken in. There weren't any windows, just two doors leading to places that Ravenna wasn't sure she wanted to know where.

Looking down, Ravenna noticed that her jacket and messenger bag were gone. A quick touch to her face assured her that, at least, her face covering was still there to hide the scars...

'You're finally awake," a man's voice suddenly said from somewhere to the right. Ravenna whipped her head in that direction, but hand to brace her hands on the nightstand to keep from falling off the bed. 'I was beginning to think that you would be out for the rest of the day."

'Who are you? Where am I?" Ravenna demanded in an agitated voice. Waking up in a strange room was infuriating enough, but not remembering anything on top of that was another to piss her off for days. A laugh from the mysterious man was like throwing kerosene onto the fire.

'I think you know who I am," he finally replied, stepping out of the shadows. Ravenna had to squint her eyes to be certain, but even without light she could clearly recognize the figure standing there. _Paul Bearer,_ she thought with growing annoyance. _That little prick..._ The last time she'd crossed paths with Paul Bearer had been solely by accident. She was walking in one direction and he in the other when they'd collided with each other. He'd said something to her- by now Ravenna didn't remember. It didn't register as important enough to even try- which led to Ravenna telling him to shove it where the sun didn't shine and go about her way. Apparently he didn't learn from that.

'I thought I told you last week to back the hell off, Bearer," Ravenna growled with barely contained hostility. The older, portly man ignored the anger in the young woman's voice.

'Now that's no way to treat someone who sheltered you through the night," Bearer said in a mock hurt voice. 'Besides, don't you think you should thank me for my hospitality?"

'You can take you hospitality and shove it," Ravenna said, finding the strength to stand. When she was sure she could walk without falling, Ravenna made her way towards Bearer. Both stared at one another when Ravenna was close to what she assumed was the door leading out. 'But if it will make you shut up, then _thank you_." she spat out, opening the door and crossing the threshold. Sure enough, this was the door leading out, but there were also stairs to contend with. Her headache seemed to worsen at the sight, but Ravenna continued to ignore it as she took hold of the railing and forced herself to ascend.

All told, it should have taken her a few seconds, but the headache made the stairs seem to go on and on. She was **definitely** going to sleep this one off when she got back to the hotel room.

'Are you sure you should be moving around right now? You took a nasty hit to the back of your head after all," She heard Bearer say behind her. Ravenna almost jumped in surprise. She turned her head to him slowly as Ravenna reached the the top of the staircase.

'Why do you care?" she murmured, looking away from the pale man to take a look at her surroundings. A thick cushioned couch and loveseat were situated in front of a coffee table, and a few bookcases stood a few feet away. Ravenna guessed that this was the living room.

'It's chivalry, Ms. Nokomis," he mentioned as Bearer walked passed her. 'A true gentleman never leaves a beautiful woman alone at night." Ravenna rolled her dark eyes and followed him using the wall for support. She hoped that he would lead in the direction of the front door, but was disappointed to see that he was pouring a cup of coffee in the next room. Ravenna stopped and leaned against the nearby wall.

'Chivalry is _dead_ , Bearer. No one even believes in it anymore." she brought up, breathing a little harder than usual. Just walking the ways that she did seemed to be sapping her strength. A touch to the back of her head confirmed Bearer's remark about last night; it was a bit tender and her hair was stuck in one small place as though she had been bleeding.

'On the contrary, it's still alive. Hanging on by a thread, but alive nonetheless." Bearer replied, handing Ravenna the coffee cup. Looking from him to the cup being offered to her suspiciously, Ravenna took it slowly.

'Hanging on by a thread, huh?" she mumbled as Bearer left the room again, this time returning with her jacket and messenger bag. Without thinking, she took a long swig of hot coffee. 'What exactly happened anyways that made you suddenly 'shelter me through the night' as you put it? And don't give me that 'I just happened to be in the area' excuse either." Bearer ignored the barb as he set Ravenna's bag and jacket on the nearby loveseat, considering how he should continue.

'Don't need to worry about that, Ms. Nokomis-"

' _Ravenna_ ," the ebony haired woman corrected. 'Ms. Nokomis is my mother." Bearer shrugged.

'Whatever you prefer. But I _wasn't_ in the area. In fact, I wasn't the one that brought you here in the first place. Someone else did." Ravenna's suspicions kicked up a notch at this. 'From what I heard, you were walking alone in the rain when someone attacked you from behind. If you didn't notice already, the cuts on your hands are proof of that. (Ravenna glanced down at both hands holding the coffee cup at this.) Even though you were fighting, you were pushed and ended up banging your head against a wall hard enough to knock you out. And then he brought you here." Bearer finished.

'He?" Ravenna piped up.

'My son," he answered before adding with a smile, 'Kane." Ravenna froze in the act of taking another drink. Dark eyes that had previously been focused on the dark liquid in her hands suddenly snapped up to Bearer. _Kane is Paul Bearer's son? Seriously,_ she thought as she observed the man before her. There weren't any resemblances that she could see outright, but then again, you didn't have to look _exactly_ like someone to be related. But still...

'Kane?" she asked, slowly lowering the cup. Bearer nodded. _Doesn't sound like a coincidence,_ she wanted to say. But this went unsaid as Ravenna quickly took a drink, refusing to let her surprise show through. If the older man before her noticed something new about the soft spoken Diva, he said nothing about it.

'By the way," Bearer suddenly said. 'You're Rowan Nokomis' sister, aren't you?" Ravenna shrugged.

'Who wants to know?"

'Just out of curiosity. I noticed you two spend a lot of time with one another." Ravenna rolled her eyes and shrugged again.

'I guess," she acquiesced. 'Don't have much of a choice when we travel together. But yes, he's my twin brother." Paul's eyebrows rose at this.

'Twins?" Ravenna nodded. 'I thought I saw a resemblance. Fraternal, I presume. Who is the oldest?"

'Rowan, by about six minutes," she replied, suddenly stopping herself from saying anything more. 'Why are you so interested anyways?" The laugh that came from Paul moments later only made her suspicions about him grow.

'I'm only curious, Ravenna. There's no harm in wanting to know more about you, is there?" Ravenna slowly cocked her head at him with a serious look in her eyes.

'No harm in knowing more about me. Now that's something I've yet to hear from someone," Ravenna mumbled. 'I don't suppose you've ever heard what curiosity did to the cat."

'Killed it, of course."

'Then maybe you should keep that in mind when you go about asking things that are better left unanswered, _Bearer_ ," Ravenna finished calmly as she drank the last of her coffee. She hoped this would deter any more attempts on his part to make her say more than what she was used to, but Bearer clearly wasn't done with her yet.

'I could say the same for your brother," he mentioned as Ravenna set the now empty coffee mug on a dark stained side table. 'Maybe he should listen to you more. He might learn a thing or two." Ravenna shot him an angry look.

' _Maybe_ we should keep my brother out of the conversation," she uttered in a low voice. She may be a woman, but Ravenna didn't have any qualms against taking on a man if she got mad enough. Ravenna only hoped that he got the message from her tone of voice alone. Once again, Bearer smiled that smug grin again.

'I'm only stating the facts, Ravenna. Your twin could get into some serious trouble if he's not careful. It'd be a shame if something was to happen to him, or _you._ " Ravenna couldn't take anymore; without another word, she grabbed her jacket and bag. 'I must have hit a nerve," Paul noted with amusement. 'I assume you're ready to leave now?" Ravenna nodded curtly. Both exchanged long looks before Bearer looked towards another threshold to the far left of the room.

'Right that way," he said in a cheery voice. 'But I'm not sure you'll get very far on foot." Ravenna glared at him as she pulled on her jacket and hoisted her messenger bag over her shoulder, not caring at this point what he thought.

'Keep it coming, Bearer," Ravenna remarked. 'Because the next time you and I see each other, I'm not going to be so _forthcoming_ with you."

'I'm counting on it," he said as Ravenna walked past him. 'Just remember what I said about your brother. I'd hate to see you pay the price for his actions." Ravenna stopped in her tracks and glanced over her shoulder.

'What did you say?"

'I'd hate to see you pay the price for his sins. It should be Rowan to answer for what he's done, not his beautiful sister." Bearer repeated. Ravenna's eye twitched in annoyance before she looked away.

'Like I said, keep it coming." she called before adding under her breath. 'Next time, I swear to God, I'll rip his damn head off." With that promise, she made her way to the front door and walking out, making sure that she slammed it. A glance outside made Ravenna suddenly wish that she hadn't.

'You've got to be _kidding_ me," she groaned. Rain was coming down in sheets, and judging by the darkness of the sky, it wasn't going to end soon. Lightening shot across the sky angrily, completely throwing Ravenna's previous idea of walking back to the hotel out the window. And by the looks of things, she wasn't even in town anymore. Everywhere she looked, Ravenna was surrounded by trees. Only when she glanced into the distance did she see the faint shadows of Knoxville, Tennessee. _Too far of a walk for me, especially in the rain,_ Ravenna noted with displeasure. The only way she was getting back to the hotel was if she got a ride Ravenna decided after noticing the black SUV parked in the driveway. Thinking on it, however, Ravenna wasn't really sure she could stand to sit in the same car with Bearer. But after weighing and reweighing her options, Ravenna determined that she didn't have a choice. She'd have to ask. Kicking herself on the inside, Ravenna took hold of the doorknob and went back inside.


	4. Homecoming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the long hiatus. I've been having some health problems here lately and haven't had the strength to write. I'm doing much better now, thankfully, and can continue posting =)

Bearer was looking like he had expected Ravenna to reappear at any moment when she came back inside. He had taken to sitting on the loveseat, clearly pretending to be reading the book that was in his lap.

'I wondered if you would ever come back inside," Paul began with another smile. 'I did say that you wouldn't be getting far walking, didn't I?" Ravenna watched him with anger brewing in those dark orbs. She really wanted to walk over and beat the hell out of him for having the audacity to even speak to her again, but Ravenna managed to curb it as she took a seat on the couch, crossing her arms across her chest. Bearer shrugged and looked back to his book, turning a page slowly.

'You might be in for a long wait, but I'm sure Kane wouldn't mind to give you a ride back when he wakes up if you're in a hurry." he continued conversationally. Ravenna never answered him as she opened her bag and took out her cell phone. She was quick to notice that it wasn't picking up a signal. 'Never could get good service with those out here. I've been wondering if they'll ever put a tower out here for us country people." She gritted her teeth and replaced her phone. _So much for that idea._ Sighing deeply, Ravenna reached back inside and pulled out a rather large novel containing three of her favorite horror stories. She opened her book to the place she'd marked with a cross stitch bookmark made by Samantha, her eldest brother Cole's wife, for her nineteenth birthday. _Might as well find some way to pass the time._

Minutes turned into an hour as Ravenna finished what was left of Frankenstein and started on Dracula when heavy footsteps signaled the entrance of another into the living room. Ravenna glanced up momentarily, and then looked right back up at the sight. There, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes, was the Big Red Monster himself. She was suddenly glad that her blue black hair had fallen when it had so that he didn't notice her staring at him. But how could she _not_ stare at him when he was standing just a few feet away from her...

'I was beginning to wonder when you'd finally get up." Bearer said, breaking the silence. Through the thick strands of her hair, Ravenna watched as Kane simply ignored him and walked towards the couch where Ravenna was sitting. Once again, the air around them felt electrified as he took a seat beside her. Ravenna quickly looked down at her book and tried to concentrate on the story as she became aware that Kane was looking at her now.

'Ravenna and I seem to have something in common," Paul noted, also looking at the ebony haired wrestler. 'She's hardly said a word since she started reading.

'She _never_ talks from what I've seen," Kane mentioned in a tired voice. Ravenna blinked a couple times and moved her hair from her face, not used to being the center of attention. Bearer laughed a bit.

'Oh, she talks. She was quite talkative once she woke up." he said, closing his book and standing. 'I'll give you two some privacy. I'm sure she'll prefer talking to you over me. You never know: you might have a few things in common with her." With those words, Ravenna listened to his fading footsteps until room became deathly silent except for the unfaltering racing of Ravenna's heart. Trying to conceal her the faint shaking of her hands, she turned the page of her book before Kane broke the silence again, never taking his eyes off of her.

'So, did you sleep well?" He asked, sounding genuinely curious. Ravenna nodded her head, blue black hair once again falling over her shoulder. He made a small sound of approval before finally looking away from her. Ravenna stole a glance in his direction before looking back at her book. She wasn't entirely sure what to say to him given the present situation with Rowan. But then again, he _had_ taken it upon himself to bring her somewhere safe instead of just leaving her to the mercy of her unknown attacker. Slowly, she marked her place and closed the book before looking at Kane, observing him as he had observed her.

He was dressed in a black shirt and blue jeans, far more casual than she at the moment. His skin was quite pale, almost as pale as her own complexion. Her eyes caught sight of what appeared to be scars on his cheek, but couldn't tell from this distance. Her eyes wandered down as she took in just how massive he was. Kane easily dwarfed her and Rowan by two or three feet, respectively. Her black eyes rested on his hand which rested quite close to her. She knew very well without putting hers down for comparison that he could encompass one of her hands, possibly two with room to spare. The idea of that sent a shiver down her spine. It sent another down for a different reason as she, despite herself, couldn't help but wonder what else about him was massive... Kane noticed her looking at him and glanced to her momentarily before Ravenna looked away quickly, clearing her throat nervously. This was completely out of character for her, she knew this. But she also knew just how dangerous this man could be. 

'If you don't mind me asking," Ravenna said after a moment of silence, catching Kane's attention again as she glanced to him. 'Why did you help me last night?" She thought it only fair to speak to him since he'd spoken to her. Kane didn't answer, not that she expected him to. Ravenna looked away and sat back against the fluffy cushions of the couch. This certainly wasn't what she had in mind for her morning. _I wonder what Rowan is doing..._

'I didn't want to," he suddenly said, snapping Ravenna out of her thoughts.

'What?" Ravenna asked as she looked back at him. Kane never met her gaze.

'I didn't want to leave you out there on your own." he repeated. Ravenna glanced away slowly.

'Oh," she answered, looking down at her hands. Another long silence befell them as the rain outside continued to pour. Ravenna's thoughts wandered back to her brother Rowan. What _was_ he doing this morning? Was he concerned about her absence? More than likely he was. Rowan was terrible for worrying himself sick. She almost didn't want to fathom the idea of what he would do if he saw her in the same house with Paul Bearer _and_ Kane. _He would die and roll over two times in his grave before he even made it inside it,_ Ravenna contemplated.

'So Bearer's your father, huh?" Ravenna said sometime later, trying to keep from being bored out of her mind. Once again, Kane nodded but never looked at her. She guessed he wasn't used to talking to people either.  _I can relate to that one hundred percent._ 'I'd have never guessed you were related."

'Speaking of family," Bearer said as he was passing by. 'Ravenna was just telling me about her and Rowan being twins before you came down." Kane, who had previously been staring into space suddenly looked his father's way in interest.

'Twins?" He asked, glancing back at Ravenna, who was shooting daggers at Bearer with her eyes. If looks could kill, he would be long gone by now. _Keep talking Bearer,_ Ravenna was screaming inside. _I swear to God if I ever catch you on your own, your ass is mine!_ She conveniently forgot about Kane. Every muscle in Ravenna's body was tensing up, betraying how angry she was getting.Bearer must have seen this as he was getting ready to say something but wisely kept his mouth shut.

'I'd have never guessed you were related," Kane said, Ravenna's attention effectively drawn away from Bearer once again. He purposely used the same line Ravenna had moments earlier in almost the same tone of voice to see her reaction to such. Ravenna never batted an eye.

'I get that a lot," Ravenna said curtly. 'We've got close to nothing in common except for career choices."

'Don't forget appearances!" Bearer added as he left the room again. Ravenna rolled her eyes.

'Doesn't count," she mumbled. Kane gave her a disapproving stare, but after exchanging looks with Ravenna, said nothing more on the matter.

'I'm guessing you're wanting to leave soon," Kane said after a moment of silence. Ravenna acknowledged him with a nod and looked away. No more words passed between them as Kane sighed and stood up, wordlessly ordering Ravenna to follow him. She did so without question as they walked out to the foyer.  Kane stopped only to pick up a set of keys before heading out the door with Ravenna right behind him. The rain had let up to a drizzle as both wrestlers approached the black SUV, Kane surprising Ravenna by opening her door for her before walking to the driver side. She paused for a long second, not expecting such a thing considering how things were with Kane and Rowan, but she chose not to question it.

_Might as well get my story straight for Rowan,_ Ravenna thought as she climbed inside and closed the door.

 

* * *

 

It was well into the afternoon before Rowan returned to the hotel, exhausted from his work out. Usually, going to the gym helped clear his mind, but today was a different story. It was hard to concentrate when Ravenna still had not shown up or even so much as called him to let him know she was alright.  _She has to be alright, she has to be,_ Rowan thought to himself in an attempt to stop his racing thoughts. _But what if she's not_ _?_ An obtrusive voice pointed out. Rowan silenced it quickly. She was alright. Ravenna was alright and would call him. He knew she would-

The familiar ringing of his cellphone snapped Rowan from his thoughts as he dug through his bag in search of it. _Speak of the devil,_ he thought briefly before flipping open the top. 'Ravenna! Where the hell are you?"

'Well hello to you too, Rowan," Ravenna replied coolly. 'Whatever happened to 'Good afternoon, little sister. How are you today?'?" Rowan sighed in annoyance.

'I'll remember that the next time _you're_ worrying over _me_. Where have you been all day? I've been trying to call you since this morning!"

'If you have to know, I haven't been able to call you because I didn't have signal."

'And where could you be that you wouldn't have signal? And don't tell me you're with Jazz because I know you're not."

'Let me guess; you called her and countless others causing a ruckus because you have the weakest nerves known to man." Ravenna said in a sardonic tone.

'Ravenna, stop being bitchy and tell me where you are," he grumbled in response. Ravenna didn't answer him. 'Ravenna, where are you? Don't make me come and hunt you down!" Rowan said in a warning tone. The door to the hotel room suddenly opened to reveal Ravenna.

'Standing right in front of you," she answered before hanging up. Both twins stared at one another before Rowan finally closed his phone and went to hug his sister, much to the chagrin of Ravenna.

'Alright, you can let go now. It's not like I've returned from the dead," Ravenna growled after being embraced tightly, squirming uncomfortably. She pulled away and straightened her jacket before dropping her bag to the floor.

'Don't ever do that again," he said sternly, pointing a finger at her. Ravenna glared deeply at him before shaking her head. 'I'm serious, Ravenna. Don't scare me like that."

'You're acting like I was kidnapped," she threw back, taking off her black jacket and pulling out her duffel bag to find fresh clothes to change into.

'Well when you disappear at night and don't come back till the next day it's enough to make someone wonder. Especially if that someone is your twin brother."

'More like worry-till-he-almost-dies twin brother. Anyone ever told you that you need to learn to chill out sometimes?" Ravenna said with a smirk.

'Anyone ever told you that you're a smartass?" Rowan hissed. Ravenna just laughed at this.

'Touche," was her last remark as she disappeared into the bathroom to brush her teeth. Rowan followed her in.

'So are you going to tell me where you were or do I have to become Sherlock Holmes?" Ravenna, who was in the act of putting toothpaste on her toothbrush stopped and looked at her twin's reflection in the mirror.

'Are you seriously going to keep going on and on about this?" she asked.

'Yes I am!" Rowan exclaimed. 'You know what happened the last time we got separated from each other-"

'Please don't remind me," Ravenna cut him off. 'I don't think I have the stomach to remember it."

'Then you understand perfectly how I've been feeling this morning. I know you like to go off on your own, but at least leave me a more descriptive note next time." Rowan chided. Ravenna rolled her eyes at these words. 'I'm serious Ravenna. I don't want anything to happen to you."

'You're starting to sound like Dad," Ravenna noted. 'And I don't like it."

'Well considering how busy he is all the time, I kinda have to take on that role," Rowan acknowledge, reaching around his sister to grab his blue toothbrush. That was true; their father- Tristan McGillicutty- had almost never been in their lives. Being an amateur wrestler had done that. But later on, he became part of the Board of Directors, ironically for the same company that his youngest children now worked for: the WWE. Some people speculated that that was how Rowan and Ravenna got onto the roster in the first place, but they never talked much about their father. After all, they didn't share his last name. Rather, they took the maiden name of their mother- Natalia Nokomis- embracing their Cherokee heritage.

'He never talks to us anymore," Ravenna noted quietly as she commenced brushing her teeth. Rowan nodded.

'I know. It bothers me too," he admitted. 'He's not approachable anymore."

'Has he ever? You remember how he was when we were kids; he was too tired to even get up and be a father."

'Before or after he left Mom?" Rowan asked, spitting the minty foam into the sink. 'You know how intolerable he is of alcohol."

'He's a Scotsman. He should be used to it." Ravenna grumbled, rinsing out her mouth and her toothbrush. 'Besides, _he_ was the one that drove her to drink. And we all know how that song and dance ended..." Her voice trailed off after that. Rowan put a hand on her shoulder as he too finished brushing his teeth.

'It's in the past Ravenna. There's nothing that we can do to change it now." Ravenna stared at her brother for a long, long time after he said this, his voice echoing in her mind.  _It's in the past, it's in the past..._

Except sometimes the past has a way of coming back to haunt you.

 

* * *

_Present Time_

Ravenna had returned to her home by the sea in northern Maine just yesterday it seemed. The comforting salty air was a welcome scent that she loved and missed every time she had to leave. As much as she longed to enjoy it for just a bit longer, however, it was time to pack up and head for the next city- this Monday, she'd be in Los Angeles until Wednesday before she jetted off to Phoenix for her brother Vincent's championship match in the UFC. 

But there was something else plaguing Ravenna's mind...

It had been several weeks since Rowan won his World title. How long exactly, Ravenna didn’t know. She was only aware of the fact that Rowan hadn’t wasted a single opportunity to brag about it to everyone, and rub it in the faces of the Miz and Kane that he had overcome their challenge in the cell. Ravenna wasn’t sure if that was him being his usual joking self or if Rowan had a serious death wish. Whatever the case, it was getting to be too much.

Now the fact was that she loved her twin brother- all of her brothers, to be specific- and the fact that they were all bound by blood was the only logical explanation for that. But here recently, Rowan had been getting away with too much for too long. There was no way any of them could excuse his behavior towards anyone anymore. Anyone who knew Rowan knew that he was sweet and gentle natured. He treated everyone like they were his brother or sister. He never was one to brag or to put anyone down. While he had the trademark short temper of the Nokomis’, he never let it get to the point that Rowan would do something that he would regret. Now however, that old persona of his was long gone and in its place was someone that Ravenna, Cole, or Vincent didn’t know anymore. He'd become condescending and rude, almost stuck up, even to his own siblings. 

Just last week, however, he'd taken it too far when he'd gotten into a heated argument with Vincent, an argument which just about escalated into a fist fight. How it initially started, Ravenna didn't know. But one thing was for certain; she'd never seen such a vicious look in Vincent's eyes or such childish smugness from Rowan.

'You need to get through to him, Ravenna, because I can't fucking take it anymore," Vincent had confided in her. 'I know he's our brother, but this is getting way out of hand. If he keeps it up, he's going to get hurt." She never outright said it, but Ravenna concurred with her brother's statement. Rowan wasn't the same person anymore.

'We need to tell Dad," the eldest, Cole, had pointed out. 'I just can't see what's gotten into him. He's never acted like this."

'Dad isn't going to do shit," Vincent replied to him, his voice still singed with anger. 'It's up to us to beat some sense into him."

'Talk to him, will you Ravenna? If there's anyone he'll listen to, it's you. I know he will."

Except he hadn't been listening to her and now things had escalated to the point that Ravenna was caught between her brothers. On one hand, she felt that Cole was right, but that Vincent's idea was more appealing. _Maybe Vincent will be in more of a mind to listen now that his blood's cooled down some._ It would be very nice to see him, that was for sure. She'd never admit it, but Ravenna always felt closer to Vincent than her own twin sometimes. He was similar to her in ways that Rowan wasn't. Maybe it was because of the turn of events, but she was finding that she wanted to be near Vincent more and more often. If only he was at WWE with them. Maybe then she wouldn't feel so alone sometimes...

Nevertheless, both Nokomis twins had matches to focus on Monday: Rowan was scheduled for a match against Edge earlier that night, and Ravenna promised that she would accompany him to ringside to show her support, even if she really didn't want to. He'd calmed down tremendously from last week, but the same couldn't be said for Cole or Vincent.

Ravenna, however, was still fuming, but not at Rowan. Rather, at Paul Bearer. She hadn't forgotten that he had put her in the basement and _then_ had the nerve to practically threaten her brother. _What I would give to have_ him _in a match against me._ The words that he had said to her about Rowan resonated in her mind.

_I'd hate to see you pay the price for his sins_.

Ravenna wasn't one to draw conclusions based on things she heard, but the way that he put his words made Ravenna consider that maybe Kane wasn't the one who had left the note found by Rowan, the note that had started this whole thing. In fact, it looked like someone else was trying to fan the flames between her twin and the Big Red Monster. Someone like Paul Bearer. _It wouldn't surprise me in the least if he's got something to do with it,_ Ravenna thought as she packed up her wrestling attire for Monday and Tuesday; a black halter shirt with black leggings and her favorite black boots. A solid black hoodie would finish off that costume for Monday. On Tuesday, she decided on a blue and black hoodie with a Gothic butterfly tank top and black bondage pants (She was finally beginning to see a pattern with her attires.). A couple of rock band t-shirts along with a green pair of cargo pants and her favorite Demonia skirt would be her everyday clothes outside the ring.

She was still debating on her manner of dress for Thursday, knowing that she would be expected to look nice for the occasion. Torn between a black or blue Gothic Lolita dress that came to her knees, Ravenna wasn't entirely sure if either would be an appropriate choice for such. Digging through her closet, she tried to find something else when her phone suddenly rang. Ravenna turned and scolded the phone in Cherokee before walking over and picking it up.

'Hello?" She began. To her surprise, no one answered. 'Hello?" she called once more. Silence. Ravenna shrugged and hung up. It wasn't much of a shock to her that no one answered her; for the past few minutes, that was all she'd been getting. _When they get over their shyness, they'll call me back,_ Ravenna decided as she walked back to her closet. Before she was called away, Ravenna had found a dark blue dress that Rowan's friend Annalise had sent to her from Japan. She didn't see why she hadn't worn it yet- the dress reached just below her knees with tiny black rose buttons along the collar. The sleeves flowed like a kimono's, something Ravenna was quite fond of. The back laced up to look like black wings, similar to the raven wing tattoos that Ravenna had gotten a year ago on her eighteenth birthday. Ravenna was absolutely delighted that she had received it from her. Which reminded her that she needed to find something to give in return... _Maybe if Rowan and Annalise were together, he'd calm down some,_ Ravenna caught herself thinking with a smile, recalling the fondness that he had for the beautiful Japanese girl.

Deciding that now was as good a time as any to wear it for the first time, Ravenna took it down from the hanger and folded it neatly into her purple rolling suitcase. Thinking for a moment, Ravenna went back to her closet and dug around in the bottom before she finally found her favorite blue high heels with skulls on the back. She smiled in pride as she put them right beside the dress. They matched each other perfectly. Satisfied, she zipped up the suitcase and set it to the side for tomorrow. She had let Rowan talk her into meeting him at the connecting airport. Ravenna hadn't wanted to say anything, but she guessed that he wanted to look good for the fans that sometimes showed up to see the wrestlers. Or to keep her nearby in case they bumped into Kane again. 

_Kane,_ Ravenna thought. She was still trying to wrap her mind around the thinking behind him first trying to help her out of the ring (before Rowan took on the task himself.) and then taking her in for the night after she was attacked. Ravenna still couldn't remember exactly what happened, having never questioned Kane on the matter. From what she could tell, judging from the small wound on the back of her head, Bearer had been telling her the truth. Maybe it was just her, but Ravenna suspected there was more to the story than what she was being told. She made it a point to try to talk to Kane about it later, try being the key word.

At that idea, she couldn't help but shiver involuntarily. Despite her swearing up and down she was in no way, shape, or form interested in him, Ravenna found her thoughts being haunted by Kane, no matter how hard she tried to focus on something else. Nonetheless, perhaps she was a bit grateful that he did help her, and kicked herself for not thanking him the last time she had seen him.

The car ride back to her hotel had been spent in silence, neither she nor Kane speaking about anything. She guessed it was just because of the awkwardness of the situation. Ravenna understood that perfectly, having had to go through the same with some ECW upstart called Kelly Kelly when Rowan invited her out with both twins. If Ravenna had her way, she'd never have let it happen in the first place. If Rowan hadn't been there to keep her distracted, more than likely, Raw would have taken place in public.

Ravenna took a deep breath and shook her head, reaching behind her to release the tie holding her hair back. Blue black hair cascaded down her shoulders hiding the black material covering the left side of her face. Upon feeling it, Ravenna felt the memories of what hid beneath it flow into her mind without her consent. It took everything in her not to let angry tears fall. Ravenna knew that she was alone. No one would see what lay beneath it. So why did she continue to wear it even when she was on her own? She caught sight of her reflection in the mirror as she pondered on this, and on instinct, reached to touch what should be smooth skin. Even through the black veil concealing them, she could feel what lay just there beneath the thin material. Slowly, she reached for the pins that held it in place at her hairline.

It took just minutes for the black obscurement to fall from her face, and once again, Ravenna was faced with the harsh reality that came with wearing such an accessory. It reminded her of makeup- you could use it hide what lay beneath, but sooner or later, it had to come off. Every Diva Ravenna knew could take off their makeup and still be beautiful. She only wished the same could be said for her.

Her left hand came to touch the smooth, but horrifically jagged scars that ran from her hairline all the way down to her jaw on the left side. In the back of her mind, she heard screams- her screams- from years ago, begging the one responsible for this travesty to show mercy and end the torment. That usually ended in a vicious beating that left her unconscious for days sometimes. But her abuser was a clever one- he'd chosen the opportunity to do this when her brothers were gone. Her mother was home, but drunk out of her mind to the point that she had been _laughing_ the entire time her own child was being mutilated and molested right in front of her. Never once did either of them show a shred of mercy. Never once did they simply kill her and be done with it...

The more Ravenna looked at herself in the mirror, the more she wanted to smash it to pieces until there was nothing left. But even then, she knew that it wouldn't hide the scars just as no amount of makeup would ever completely conceal them from view. Just as no amount of care, adoration, or even that little thing called love would ever heal the scars of her past. With that said, Ravenna angrily turned from the mirror and fixed the veil back over her face, focusing instead on packing up her last few necessities into her messenger bag.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise we'll get into the explicit bits very, very soon. After this and the next chapter, we'll see Kane be Kane. Hope you're ready for it ;)


	5. Bad Intentions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ravenna and Rowan's typical Monday night doesn't turn out the way they'd hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what? Sins of the Brother is being used in NaNoWriMo! You know what that means; it's a mad dash to 50k words! Let's do this! >=D

Monday night was hectic as always backstage. Everyone was going this way and that, staff shouting orders to others as the two hour show went on. In Ravenna's locker room, however, all was well and quiet as she laid out her attire for the night. Just minutes ago, she had applied her usual black and purple eye makeup as well as a bit of lip gloss, but now it was time to get suited up. Adrenaline was already building in anticipation of her tag team match tonight.

Ravenna had just pulled on her pants and shirt when a short knock broke the silence of the room, Rowan letting himself in.

'Still not dressed?" he noted, brushing his neck length black hair out of his face. 'I thought by now you'd be ready!" Ravenna glanced up at him as she put on a pair of socks.

'Ever heard of enjoying some alone time before a match? And while you're at it, how about knocking and waiting for an answer next time." Ravenna mumbled, reaching for her knee high boots. Rowan snatched them up and playfully held them out of reach as Ravenna gave him an annoyed look before handing them back reluctantly.

'Well we can't all be calm, cool, and collected like you all the time, sis," he said, ruffling the young Nokomis twin's hair. Ravenna cursed under her breath at this and smoothed it back down. 'You gotta learn to let loose sometimes!" Rowan finished, re-ruffling her hair. He repeated this twice more, the last time earning him a powerful punch from Ravenna in the arm.

'Tell you what, I'll let loose a few knots on your head if you don't stop messing with my hair," Ravenna growled, growing more and more annoyed at her brother's aggravation. If there was one thing she didn't like, it was Rowan poking fun at her before a match. She'd rather have someone else to take her anger out on. Rowan held his arm and rubbed it vigorously to banish the thumping pain.

'Well someone's on edge tonight," he grinned, Ravenna rolling her eyes and flipping him off. 'Aw, that's so sweet! I love you too, little sister!" Rowan snatched Ravenna up and gave her a bear hug.

'Alright already! Put me down!" she hissed, twisting her way out of the embrace. 'What's got you in such a childish mood, anyways?" Rowan shrugged and put his arms behind his head.

'Maybe it's because _I'm_ the _new_ World Champion and totally just _owned_ the Rated R Superstar!" Rowan said ecstatically. Ravenna had to admit that it was sort of a big deal for Rowan to have won this match against Edge. He needed to send the message that he wasn't going to let this title go without a hell of a fight first. _At least he's not being a dick about it_. She still wished that he wasn't so damn childish when he was around her. Moreso, however, she wished that her brother would go back to the same person that he used to be. Which reminded her...

'Hey Rowan," she said, pausing in the act of putting on her boots. Rowan looked down at her questioningly, coming forward to rest one leg on the bench where she sat and resting both arms on it. 'You're not too busy right now are you?"

'No, why? Something up? If you need a special match or something, I can use my new status as the new-"

'That's all good and well, Rowan, but no. I don't need any special treatment or favors since you're my brother," Ravenna cut him off. She _really_ didn't think she could handle his bragging right now. 'There's something I've been wanting to talk to you about since that fight with Vincent and all." Rowan rolled his eyes.

'Let me guess, he's still pissed at me because I actually know how to win a title." Ravenna shot him a look at this statement. 'Well it's true! Him and Cole get to brag all the time about their winning streaks. Now that I finally won and do the same, they want to get pissy. What's the big deal?"

'The big deal is that you're taking it too far," Ravenna pointed out. 'Look, I'm thrilled that you won, believe me. It's good that you finally are getting the recognition that you deserve and are making our family proud. But you don't have to be a dick all the time to us and to those that are your friends." Rowan stared at her in surprise, almost like he couldn't believe she was saying this.

'Really? _I'm_ being a dick to my friends and family? That's what he said?" Rowan exclaimed. Now it was Ravenna's turn to roll her eyes.

'No, Vincent didn't say that. But it's getting to the point that both Cole and Vincent want to get Dad involved. And I don't know about you, but I don't think it would look too good on us if more people are aware of the fact that our father just so happens to be on the Board of Directors." Ravenna explained. Rowan was silent for many, many minutes. 'If you have to brag about it, don't be a dick about it. Plain and simple, alright?" Rowan's dark eyes met the equally dark orbs of his sister. She wondered for a minute if her words had gotten through to him, but she couldn't tell from his demeanor alone.

'Alright then, I won't talk about it in front of them anymore." Rowan acquiesced, ruffling Ravenna's hair. 'Now, let's change the mood to a more happy one! This is supposed to be a great night for both of us!" Ravenna snorted.

'We'll see. Now if you don't mind, I need to finish getting ready." Ravenna finally said, dragging her brother to the door and urging him out. Rowan ruffled her hair one more time to add salt in the wound, quickly darting away when Ravenna made a grab for him.

'Love you too sis! Good luck tonight!" Rowan called back as he started down the hall. Ravenna shook her head and laughed quietly.

'Like I really need it," she said, closing the door and walking back to the nearby bench to dig out her arm warmers from her backpack. Pulling out her mp3 player by mistake, Ravenna decided that it couldn't hurt to listen to a few songs while she finished getting ready, and put in her black ear buds.

Belly's Dusted played as she pulled back her hair and secured her face covering. This one in particular depicted a raven flying in lace. Ravenna was very proud to wear this veil in particular due to her having made it herself. It was more breathable as well; she didn't have to worry about it irritating her skin underneath it once she began sweating. When she was satisfied it could not be yanked off easily, Ravenna pulled on both arm warmers and began to lace up the left just as Alice Cooper's Feed My Frankenstein started.

 

* * *

 

Rowan never paid a bit of attention to the three men dressed in black lingering only a few feet away from his sister's dressing room. One waited until they were sure he was gone before venturing forward to look at the name tag hanging near the top. A quick thumbs up alerted the others that this was the right room. The taller of the three motioned him back over to discuss their carefully orchestrated plan.

'He won't be back for a good hour or so," one of them mentioned once all three were reunited. 'She likes to be alone before and after a match to recuperate. That gives us enough time to get in and get out without his interference."

'Wouldn't it make more sense to get her _before_ she actually goes out? There's no way we could do it in front of millions! He'll come running the second he sees us!"

'He's got a point," the second tallest remarked. 'If we don't want to draw him out, we need to get her before the match. We need to make a clean get away or we don't get paid. And no unwanted attention that can lead back to you-know-who." One of them grinned and looked behind him.

'Her friend here is going to make sure of that," he mentioned. From the shadows, Jazz looked from one man to the next, too shaken up to really say anything in protest. She didn't know what these men wanted, only that they had forcefully pulled her from her car and made her show them where Ravenna's locker room was. One grabbed hold of her hair and brought her to the center of the group.

'Now let's make sure we've made this clear enough for your pretty head to understand," One growled, never releasing his hold on Jazz. 'You are to go to her door as though nothing is wrong. Tell her anything that will bring her out of her room and towards us. Say _nothing_ that will give away our purpose here. Then you are to leave and tell no one of whatever you happen to see. And if we suspect even for a moment that you've betrayed us, we _won't_ take it lightly. Am I understood?" Her captive hissed, holding Jazz close to his face. The dark skinned Diva smacked his hand away and backed off.

'So help me God, if any of you hurt her, I'll personally hunt you down myself!" Jazz threatened, walking towards Ravenna's door reluctantly. This brought a collective laugh from all three men.

'Whose to say we'll still be in town by then?" The stockier of the group called as Jazz flashed him an angry look. As she approached Ravenna's door, Jazz quickly formulated a plan. If those bastards thought even for a second that she was going to intentionally betray her friend, they had another thing coming. _What the hell have I gotten myself into,_ she thought, knocking on Ravenna's door.

 

* * *

 

Ravenna had just finished lacing up her arm warmers for her upcoming match when frantic knocking broke the silence of her dressing room. She glanced up in annoyance and cursed in Cherokee. Rowan no doubt was back for round 2 of his aggravation like he usually did. Honestly, what was his fascination with getting Ravenna riled up before a match? Did he seriously want to see her take out all her anger on someone? _He never gives up,_ Ravenna thought.

'Now's not a good time, Rowan!" Ravenna called out, stretching her arms as she turned off her mp3 player. The knocking grew even more frantic. Throwing her hands into the air, she stood and crossed the short distance to the door and flung it open. 'Rowan I said-" Without warning, Jazz came barreling inside and slamming the door behind her. 'Jazz, what's wrong?" Ravenna asked, sensing something wasn't right just by the look on the older Diva's face. Jazz shook her head.

'Listen, don't ask any questions. Just follow me out into the hall and play along with whatever I say!" Jazz said in a scared and quiet voice.

'For what? What about our match?" Ravenna asked.

'Forget about the match, Ravenna. There's no time. Please..." Jazz pleaded growing more and more frantic with each second that passed.

'Jazz, slow down. What's going on?" Ravenna asked, thoroughly confused. Jazz shook her head again.

'Ravenna, please! We don't have time to talk. I don't know what they are planning-"

'Wait, they? What do you mean "they"? Is someone after you?"

'No, Ravenna, they aren't after me. They're after _you_ ," Jazz finally admitted with a long sigh. 'I came to the arena a little earlier than usual and these three guys just randomly came up to my car and pulled me out. They kept asking questions about you and Rowan... and then they made me show them where your locker room was. I don't know who they are, I've never seen them before. But you need to get out of the arena, now."

Ravenna stared at her friend for a long, long moment. Something was clearly wrong, she knew and saw this. Seeing no other options, Ravenna took a deep breath and nodded. Jazz mirrored this and gave her a quick hug before opening the door again and leading Ravenna into the hall.

'So I was thinking that maybe we could go out for dinner again after our match," Jazz said in a mock happy voice. Ravenna could see the fear in her eyes, even if Jazz was refusing to show it. She managed a tiny smile and nodded.

'Sounds good to me," Ravenna agreed, continuing their animated conversation about where they could go, adding that there was a new movie in theaters that they should see as well. It wasn't until they got halfway down the hall that Ravenna suddenly caught sight of the 'they' that Jazz must have been referring to- there, in the shadows, were three men who had a look of ill intentions written all over their faces. She took a deep breath as Jazz walked a bit closer before freezing and glancing from Ravenna to the men.

'Ravenna, RUN!" Jazz screamed. All that adrenaline that had been building up for her match gave Ravenna the extra boost of speed she needed. Like a rocket, Ravenna took off in the opposite direction, not giving a damn where she was heading. Behind her, she heard Jazz trying to keep the men that were calling after her busy, but one must have gotten away as Ravenna heard sounds of someone running behind her.

Ravenna took sharp turns and pushed objects into the path of her pursuer, her small frame giving her an advantage when it came to maneuvering into small spaces. The string of curses that followed one particular moment let her know that whoever it was following her knew there was no chance in hell they were going to catch her as easily as they may have thought. She grinned smugly. Those times she spent running with Vincent late at night were finally starting to pay off.

Even though she was positive she had put a great deal of distance between herself and the men in black, Ravenna was careful not to let her guard down too much. There was no way of knowing if there were more right behind them, or if more were laying in wait. Ravenna turned to look behind her, not so much as panting. Sure enough, no one was following her.

'Who the hell were they, anyways?" Ravenna said aloud. Her moment of relief was short lived when she bumped into something hard. Her breath caught in her throat as Ravenna slowly glanced behind her. When she caught sight of who was behind her, Ravenna almost wished that she had never done so in the first place as her eyes met those of the person standing behind her.

 

* * *

 

It was difficult to say for certain exactly what was going through Kane's head as he looked down at the ebony haired woman currently leaning against him. A confused look had etched itself across her pale features, but now it was being replaced by something similar to shock. Or was it surprise? Kane didn't know and didn't care. Misallied eyes met almost black eyes and lingered there for many moments, observing the way the light made them appear to have flecks of grey inside them. This was most definitely a change of events. He wasn't planning on her coming to _him_ like this...

The more he kept looking into those dark orbs of hers, however, the more Kane began to see the similarities between her and Rowan. Anger started to boil within him at that thought. A part of him was calling for him to chokeslam her to hell and be done with it, just to enrage Rowan, but something was holding him back. The same thing that had made him take her with him the night he'd seen her laying helplessly in the rain. There was just something about _her_ that made him think twice...

The woman- Ravenna was it?- continued to stare up at Kane, who was studying her in return. Truth be told, she wasn't bad looking in any way, shape, or form. Her pale skin almost blended with his own pale complexion. The long black strands of hair had been pulled away from her face, and seemed to shine a dark blue hue in the lights. From what he could tell, she was beautiful- almond shaped eyes and high cheekbones gave away that she had some sort of Native American in her, and full lips that didn't need any color whatsoever. However, that was just one part of her face, for the other side was partially hidden by that black material on her face. With a face like hers, what could she possibly want to hide?

Both were snapped out of their vigilant stares by the sounds of someone shouting from down the hall. Ravenna's black hair brushed against him briefly like silk as she turned her head in that direction quickly. Ravenna tried sidestepping away from Kane only to be stopped by his large hand taking hold of her arm. Oh no, he thought. She wasn't going anywhere just yet. He wasn't done with her. She was surprisingly strong, however, and Ravenna easily jerked her arm out of his grasp. The ebony haired Diva glared at him for several long minutes almost as though she couldn't believe he just did that before running off quickly, taking a sharp right turn into the service halls. That was almost like walking through a maze; if someone didn't know which hall lead where, you could be wandering through them for hours. Lucky for him, Kane was one of few that knew them well, having used them many times in the past. It was highly unlikely that Ravenna would even know anything about them.

A smirk crossed Kane's features as he started following her. His well thought out plan was going to work out better than he thought.

 

* * *

 

It felt like ages since Ravenna had entered the service halls and it was becoming more and more obvious that these halls hadn't been used in quite some time: there were boxes and stacked chairs lining the white concrete walls, a few lights flickering and the floor riddled with long cracks in the tile. Every few feet or so there were halls leading in different directions. They were also pitch black.

Ravenna wasn't afraid of the dark, but given the current circumstances, she wasn't sure that even she really wanted to go down any of them. She was smarter than what people liked to think. Even so, a hall with flickering lights never boded well. There was just too many things that could go wrong in a matter of seconds. Maybe that door she had took some time back was a bad idea after all. Honestly, what had she been thinking going past a door that led into a seemingly endless hall?

 _If this was a horror movie, people would be hating me by now for this_ , Ravenna couldn't help but think. Actually, this had all the makings of a horror movie scene to her. _A group of men dressed in black are chasing me all over the arena and a seven foot tall man with a serious grudge against my brother is more than likely pissed at me for walking away from him. What could possibly go wrong here?_

Ravenna stopped only for a moment in front of a hallway, breathing deeply. This usually calmed her down, but against her will, Ravenna's body started shaking with a feeling she was sure she'd rid herself of. Apparently not. She closed her eyes slowly just as the light above her began to flicker, intending to stop for just a moment...

But in that moment, a pair of arms reached from the blackness of the hall and pulled her towards their owner. Ravenna gasped in surprise, twisting violently. She had balled up a fist and had started to take a swing until she caught sight of a familiar face.

'Whoa! Whoa! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!" Eugene started, holding up his hands as he backed up against a wall. 'I thought you were lost! I just wanted to help!" Ravenna sighed in annoyance and backed off, running a hand through the strands of hair that had escaped the band that kept them held at the base of her skull.

'Eugene," she mumbled. The brunette man before her nodded and slowly lowered his hands, his entire body shaking in fear.

'Yeah, it's me. Eugene. It's just me... please, oh please, don't hurt me!" Eugene answered uneasily. Any other day, depending on her mood, Ravenna would have treated the simple man with the most gentle demeanor she could muster. God knew that the poor guy put up with enough bullshit from the likes of Triple H and his so called uncle Eric. In fact, both she and her brother treated him like another member of the family, just so he didn't have to be alone. Really, he was a sweetheart. Tonight however Ravenna could only give him an exasperated look as she kept checking to make sure no one was coming up behind them.

'What are you doing in here, Eugene?" Ravenna asked in a harsher voice than she intended. Eugene flinched, still expecting a blow from her, but slowly came to realize that Ravenna wasn't going to hurt him.

'I-I heard someone mention you were being followed, so I came to rescue you, I did. I thought you were hurt or lost." Eugene admitted, fidgeting with his hands and mustering a scared smile. Despite the current events, Ravenna mustered a smile of her own to put the man at ease. She wouldn't outright admit it, but the fact that he was coming to check on her well-being was touching. _He's a sweet child in the body of a man,_ Ravenna thought. But now was not the time to be lingering.

'So you want to be like Hurricane, huh?" Ravenna asked, unable to stop the full blown smile that was worming its way out of her. She couldn't help it; Eugene just had a way of making her give that secretive smile that only a select few people got to see. Eugene nodded.

'You bet!" he added with a smile. 'Hurricane is a superhero! He said I could be one too just by helping out people! And you're like, my bestest friend ever, so I came to find you! He'll be proud of me when he hears the good news!" Eugene went on and on about how he looked up to Hurricane, but Ravenna had looked away from his warm smile, shifting her weight uncomfortably. A sense of dread was beginning to fill her the more that they lingered. As much as she would've loved to talk with Eugene some more, she knew that they had to get a move on. And fast.

'Eugene, I'm glad that you're here and I would love to hear more about you and Hurricane, but right now we need to get out of here. Can you show me the way back to Rowan's locker room?" Ravenna asked, laying a hand on his arm. Eugene gave another warm smile and clapped his hands.

'I sure can!" Eugene agreed. 'I'll show you the way! I'll come right along with you like a sidekick! Rowan will be super proud if I protected his little sister too, don't ya think?" Ravenna started to say something in reply, but heavy footsteps from somewhere out in the main hall made all words flee from her. Slowly, she peeked past the corner before quickly easing her way further in the shadows. Eugene began to ask what was wrong, but Ravenna shook her head and took hold of his jacket.

'Come on, Eugene! We gotta go, _now_!" She whispered just as the footsteps were getting closer.

'What's wrong Ravenna? Is someone coming?" Eugene whispered loudly as he looked back. Both wrestlers froze in their tracks as the owner of those footsteps emerged from around the corner. 'It's Kane!" Eugene gasped. Sure enough, the Big Red Monster looked in their direction, the flickering light making that pale blue eye of his even more frightening. A wicked smile crossed his face as he ignored Eugene and looked right at Ravenna before slowly stalking towards her. Eugene quickly jumped to her defense, running straight at the Big Red Monster only to have a large fist connect with his jaw. Not deterred, Eugene got right back up and delivered a punch of his own.

'You leave her alone, you big bully!" Eugene cried, as he unleashed punch after punch, the force enough to knock Kane back long enough for Eugene to grab Ravenna.

'Let's go, Ravenna! I'll keep you safe!" He yelled, dragging the young Diva behind him. Ravenna spared one more glance behind her to see Kane in hot pursuit, his angry breathing drowning out the sound of her racing heart. _I knew this was going to happen,_ she thought as Eugene made a sharp left. _I knew this wasn't going to end well! But no one ever listens to me!_ When this was over, Ravenna was going to throttle Rowan for pissing off Kane. Just throttle him until he begged for mercy. Even then, she wasn't sure she'd stop.

Several turns later, Eugene and Ravenna emerged into yet another hallway, this one more familiar to Ravenna. A quick observation confirmed that this was the hall leading to the male locker rooms. _Now that's what I call a short cut._ But neither of them stopped; without words, Eugene continued to lead Ravenna down the halls, making one more turn before bumping into Rowan himself.

'There you are!" her twin said with a worried look. 'I've been looking everywhere for you! You're set to go on in ten minutes!" Eugene glanced from Rowan to Ravenna and shook his head.

'No, no, no, Rowan. Ravenna can't go out there! She'll get hurt if she goes out there! We have to get up and go!" Eugene then went on to explain their encounter with Kane before Ravenna brought up what had happened back at her locker room, purposely leaving out her first run-in with Kane. Rowan remained silent throughout, his look of anxiety deepening to that of barely contained wrath. When both had finished, Rowan remained deathly still and quiet for many moments before he calmly took hold of both of Ravenna's hands and just gripped them gently, running his thumbs over the black material that hide the tops of her small hands.

'I knew I shouldn't have brought you out to the ring," he said after awhile. 'I knew I shouldn't have asked for that match." Ravenna looked up into her twin's eyes, taking care to keep her expression as soft as she possibly could manage. Rowan rested his forehead against Ravenna's.

'Ravenna, I don't want to see you get hurt. I can't let you go out there knowing that there's people trying to hunt you down for what I've done."

'Rowan, what's _really_ going on? This can't be all over a match," Ravenna whispered back. Rowan shook his head.

'I wish I could say that it is, but there's more to it than that." he replied. 'I'll explain more later. Right now we need to get you somewhere safe." Rowan raised his head and looked to Eugene.

'I'm going to let your uncle know what's going on and to replace Ravenna with someone else. I know you're scared, but I need you to take Ravenna back to the hotel and stay with her. Can you do that for me Eugene?" Rowan asked. Ravenna let out a surprised gasp.

'What?" she began. 'Rowan, you can't be serious!"

'I'm not going to argue about this, Ravenna. It's too dangerous." Rowan replied, the set of his jaw betraying how angry he was.

'Do you honestly think that I'm going to let this scare me away from the ring? I have to go out there with Jazz!" she protested. Rowan ignored these pleas as he reached into his pocket and handed Eugene his car keys and hotel room key.

'Don't let anything happen to her, Eugene," Rowan murmured. 'I'll take care of Kane." Eugene nodded and accepted both from him before taking Ravenna's hand again. But the ebony haired Diva was far from finished with her twin; jerking away from him with almost inhuman strength, Ravenna stalked toward her retreating brother and forced him to turn back towards her.

'Listen to me closely- I'm _**not**_ going anywhere, I'm _**not**_ backing out of this match, and most of all, I'm _**not**_ letting some guys in black or the 'Big Red Monster' scare me off. I don't need someone to protect me like I'm some damsel in distress, for Christ's sake!" Rowan never met her angry gaze, only stared off towards the right for several minutes, further infuriating his sister.

'Ravenna, **move**!" Rowan bellowed as he pushed Ravenna in the direction of Eugene just as Kane was emerging from behind some wall dividers. 'Get her out of here!" he ordered Eugene before turning his attention back to the fast approaching Kane. He stared at him fearlessly, even as a large hand pushed him out of the way into some stacked chairs. Eugene didn't waste a minute more; the second Rowan was shoved, he was dragging Ravenna in the opposite direction.

'Rowan!" Ravenna called, trying to break away from Eugene to get to her twin. Rowan gritted his teeth and pulled himself back together to charge at the giant before him, only to be held back by two men that seemed to come from nowhere. With strength he never knew he had, Rowan twisted and fought viciously against his captors. But they clearly had the upper hand in the situation with their strength in numbers as they drug him in the opposite direction away from his twin.

'Run, Ravenna!" Rowan screamed before something hard connected with the back of his head. Without a sound, he slid to the ground, Ravenna screaming his name being the last thing he heard.

 

* * *

 

The second Rowan was hit from behind, Ravenna was jerking away from Eugene and running to the aid of her brother. The moment she slipped away from him, Eugene quickly reached to grab her, completely forgetting how nimble Ravenna was.

'Ravenna wait!" he called, as he came face to face with three men that seemingly appeared from nowhere. The other Nokomis twin turned back to him, hearing the connecting of fists to faces and other body parts. Torn between her fallen brother and Eugene, she glanced from one to the other. Between Eugene and her were three men who she knew she could easily take down. However, there was now an even bigger obstacle that was keeping her away from Rowan- Kane. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed in frustration.

Kane over topped her by a good three feet and was twice the size of her and Rowan put together. Unless there was a divine intervention, there was no way in hell that she had a chance at overpowering Kane on her own. She was going to have to find a way to get around him, but even that was damn near impossible; as though sensing what she was planning, Kane stopped a good eight or nine feet away from Ravenna. An amused smile was crossing his face as he watched Ravenna look from Rowan and Eugene, unsure of what to do.

Ravenna spared one more glance to Eugene, making sure that she kept a close eye on Kane at the same time. Eugene was fighting valiantly, but beginning to tire quickly. _Don't give up now, Eugene,_ Ravenna thought as he was knocked down by one of the larger men. Her breath caught in her throat as he fought to get back up on his feet, but failed miserably. Ravenna decided that she had seen enough; completely forgetting about Kane, Ravenna charged straight at Eugene's unsuspecting attackers and took two of them out easily with clotheslines to the backs of their heads, quickly joining the fray.

The men seemed reluctant to fight her, but quickly changed their sights to Ravenna as she took each one of them down with punches rivaling that of a male boxer. A few fell to the ground after one or two hits, others from about three. All told, she repeated this process about twice as the men kept getting up and swarming around her. _Who the hell are these guys,_ she wondered, kicking one in the chest when he tried grabbing her. Eugene had finally gotten to his feet, helping the best he could.

The fighting suddenly came to halt as an ominously dark shadow fell upon all combatants, effectively breaking Ravenna and Eugene's concentrations as they turned in the shadow's direction. Without warning, they found their throats in the iron grip of Kane. The seven foot man easily lifted both of them off their feet, watching with those cold eyes that could send chills down even Ravenna's spine. She clawed at his arm ineffectually. When that didn't work, Ravenna thrashed about, trying to build enough momentum to land a good kick, but Kane only held her further away from his body. He looked from Eugene to Ravenna, studying his captives for several minutes. Ravenna stole a glance to her brother's fallen form, silently praying that he would arise and help her, but Rowan remained still.

The second her eyes broke away from Kane's angry face, Ravenna felt that impossibly large hand suddenly begin to choke her. Coughing, she forced herself to look away from Rowan and back to Kane. Eugene was in no better shape- he too was fighting for air, trying in vain to land a blow on Kane. Kane's eyes left Ravenna's face and rested on Eugene, the muscles in his left arm applying more pressure on him until Eugene glanced to Ravenna. _I'm sorry I couldn't protect you,_ they seemed to say as he slowly began to consciousness.

'No!" Ravenna choked out, drawing attention back to herself. 'Let him go!" Damn it to hell, she didn't care what happened to her. Ravenna wasn't about to sit back and watch this happen to Eugene. 'Let him go!" An amused smirk crossed Kane's features as he brought her closer to his face.

'And what if I don't?" he asked, baiting the ebony haired Diva. Ravenna glared at him, gritting her teeth in anger.

'I swear to God, if you hurt him, I'll-"

'You'll what? Fight me?" Kane interjected angrily, his smirk gone. 'Go ahead Ravenna. Fight me! Because before you can do anything, I'll have already snapped your little friend's neck like a twig. Just like I'll do... to **_you_**." There was nothing but pure malice in his words. Kane wasn't joking in the least, nor did he make empty threats. Ravenna swallowed hard.

'Do whatever the hell you want with me," she spat, not caring about the consequences. 'You can't do anything to me that no one already has! Eugene has nothing to do with this!" The look in Kane's eyes after she said this made Ravenna suddenly regret having let those words pass her lips. A chill went down her spine, but Ravenna refused to allow herself to let it show. She steeled herself and stared fearlessly into Kane's furious eyes. For a split second, she was sure that Kane was going to break her neck right then and there as the pressure became so strong that Ravenna was sure she'd heard the cracking of bones until her ears heard a far more sickening sound.

 _Laughter_ , Ravenna thought, blinking her eyes several times as he slowly loosened his grip on her neck. _He's laughing?_ Sure enough, Kane was laughing at Ravenna's outburst. He _actually_ thought this was funny? The more he laughed, the more Ravenna felt like she was being slapped in the face. _Just_ wait _until you put me down,_ she vowed. _I don't care how much bigger or stronger than me you are, I'll kick your ass anyways. Then we'll see who'll be laughing then, huh?_ Despite such a vow, a little voice warned her to be careful what she wished for. Ravenna may not know much about Kane, but she knew enough to know that when the Big Red Monster started laughing, it never boded well.

'Whatever the hell I want?" he asked. 'Alright. I can work with that," Kane added, tossing Eugene's fading form to the side. He never made a sound as he lay on the concrete floor. Ravenna expected Kane to do the same to her, but no such luck was hers as she suddenly found herself slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

'What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Ravenna screamed. Kane only laughed in response as he spared a glance to the men who'd been watching the entire ordeal.

'Good job on bringing her back to me," he said, before turning and walking away with Ravenna in tow.

'You bastard! Let me go!" Ravenna yelled, fighting him once again. Kane only tightened his grip on the petite Diva. She twisted to the side in an attempt to wriggle free, but the arm that held her was like an iron band. The more she fought, the tighter his arm constricted her until it became almost impossible to breathe. Ravenna stopped for a moment to catch her breath, completely unaware that Kane was purposely taking a sharp enough turn to make Ravenna swing in that direction and her head scoring a direct hit on the corner. Instantly, Ravenna went limp as the world faded to black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, I had Cody Rhodes in the place of Eugene, but I figured that Eugene would be a better replacement because he can make Ravenna be less angsty and act more like a big sister to him. (He just has the perfect personality to be like a little sidekick. Plus it gives an overall dark story a little bit of fluff.)
> 
> Many thanks for the kudos! ^o^/


	6. No Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's a little, tiny, suggestive as hell bit towards the end of the chapter that will give you a very mild taste of what's to come. Just, ya know, throwing that out there.

There was no light when Ravenna opened her eyes again, but even so, it felt as though someone had shined a bright light upon them for so long that she was rendered blind. With a groan, she forced herself to sit up slowly. Dizziness was quick to assault her next and it took everything in Ravenna to keep from falling off the soft surface she now laid upon.

_Wait, soft?_ Ravenna glanced down after rubbing her eyes several times. Sure enough, she was laying on a bed covered only with what looked like a dark colored blanket, but the darkness of the room made it hard to be certain. She touched her forehead and blinked again, trying to remember how she came to be in a dark room in the first place. All Ravenna could recall was fighting those men with Eugene before Kane came along...

'Oh no," she muttered, realization kicking in. She jumped off the bed, ignoring her dizziness until she fell to the cold concrete floor after her legs gave out in protest. Ravenna sat there for several minutes, rubbing her temples in an effort to soothe the migraine that struck with a vengeance.

Within minutes, a light came on above her, illuminating the small room. Ravenna took a sharp breath as she came face to face with a chain link fence threaded with what looked like rusty razor wire. Another step or two and Ravenna would have had to pay a visit to the hospital. Cautiously, she stood to her feet and took a few steps back to examine the 'fence'- it ran from one side of the room to the other, effectively blocking off her only escape route; a staircase. The door leading out of the confined space was padlocked from the outside. Through each link in the fencing was razor wire that would make it suicide to reach through in an attempt to unlock the door. Luckily, there was another door not far from the simple twin sized bed situated near the corner.

Ravenna walked briskly towards it and flung open the door, feeling around for a light switch. She found it after a moment and turned it on. The room ended up being a simple bathroom with a small window near the ceiling. Unfortunately, it was much too high for Ravenna to reach, not even on her tiptoes. Judging by the size, it appeared to be large enough for her to fit through, but appearances could be deceiving. She wandered towards the sink and spared a glance at herself in the mirror. A confused sound escaped her when she saw something off about her appearance.

_I wasn't wearing this when I was at the arena,_ she thought, reaching to touch her throat. It resembled that of a dog collar, only with a peculiarly shaped latch in the front that stuck out a bit. A memory she had of watching hunting dogs on TV flowed into her mind as she remembered a similar style of latch on the collars they were wearing... Ravenna's eyes suddenly widened. Those collars weren't just any kind of collar. They were shock collars that kept dogs from running to places they weren't supposed to go.

Frantically, Ravenna tried to tear it off only to be rewarded with a sharp jolt of electricity straight through her throat. She gasped in surprise, abandoning her efforts. _What the hell is this thing doing on me,_ Ravenna thought, looking in the mirror again. The collar was jet black, almost the color of the shirt she was wearing, but off to the side, she thought she spied what appeared to be lettering. Moving the hair that had fallen over her shoulder to the side, Ravenna turned her head to take a closer look. When she saw what it was, Ravenna almost punched the mirror in anger. _Seven years of bad luck be damned._

In red stitching was a name she was all too familiar with by now- _Kane_.

'That son of a bitch," Ravenna hissed, storming out of the bathroom without even bothering to turn off the light. Her anger turned to seething rage when she looked through the links in the fence at whom she saw staring back at her.

'Awake at last I see," Paul Bearer said conversationally. 'I'm beginning to see you're developing a habit of waking up in basements." At this Paul laughed as though it was the most hilarious thing he'd ever heard in his life. 'Don't mind the little fence in front of you. As long as you don't get the idea to hurt yourself for attention, you won't be in need of a tetanus shot."

'What the hell do you want _now,_ Bearer?!" Ravenna shouted angrily, shaking with rage. 'I thought I made it clear that I _never_ wanted to catch you around me again!" Paul chuckled darkly at this.

'You did just that," he agreed. 'But Kane had other ideas, as you can tell from that pretty little necklace he gave you." Ravenna unconsciously touched the collar upon hearing it mentioned. 'The same principles as with the fence follow with the collar; don't try anything foolish, and you won't be hurt too severely. It would be an awful shame to see a pretty girl like you broken beyond repair." An inhuman growl erupted from Ravenna as she started to wander closer to the fence, but thought twice upon seeing the rusted razor wire. She and Paul agreed on one thing at least.

'You never answered my question, you ignorant prick!" Ravenna hissed once again, pacing on the other side of the fence. What she would **give** to be over there beating the hell out of the fat bastard right now... Paul ignored her insult and clucked his tongue in disapproval.

'I must say, you've got one of the sharpest tongues I've ever heard in a woman, Ravenna," he began. 'And spirit too. I knew there was a reason Kane wouldn't stop talking about you." Ravenna punched a nearby wall in frustration, ignoring the scrapes she received on her knuckles.

'I don't have time for your games, Bearer! What the hell do you want, you son of a-" Ravenna was stopped by a strong shock to her neck, forcing her to her knees in pain.

'Looks like we're gonna have to teach you not to use such language there, Miss Ravenna," Paul laughed as he turned over a small remote in his hand. Ravenna glanced up at him, panting through the blinding pain. 'If you're going to be of any use to us, you're going to need to learn some manners too."

'Use...?" Ravenna managed, running her tongue over her unusually dry lips. When was the last time she'd had a drink of water? Bearer gave her a look that she'd seen her eldest brother Cole give Vincent and Rowan when he didn't believe something they said.

'Ravenna, surely you're smarter than what you would have me believe! We've been planning this for _ages_ , especially since your brother's little escapades ruined our plans the first time."

'First time? Rowan's only been World Champion for two months! What do you mean 'first time'?" Ravenna asked, somehow finding her way back to her feet. Bearer laughed again.

'My dear, sweet Ravenna. You really think this is all about a Championship lost? This is about settling a long overdue score!" Ravenna cocked an eyebrow in confusion. 'Out of curiosity though, how is your niece Skye doing?" At the mentioning of her niece's name, Ravenna charged right at the fence, skidding to a stop just millimeters away.

'Don't you _dare_ bring her into this! She's just a little girl!" Ravenna bellowed. Bearer only chuckled.

'A very beautiful little girl at that," he mentioned. 'She looks just like her mother." Ravenna was even more confused than she had been last week.

'How would you even know about Skye? You don't know anything about me, my brother, or my family at that!" she whispered.

'On the contrary, I know more about your family than you ever would. And it's all thanks to your dear twin brother. Since you aren't going anywhere anytime soon, I suppose now is as good a time as any to explain." Bearer shoved his hands into his pocket and slowly began pacing back and forth on the other side of the barrier. 'We going to have to go back a few years, though. About three years to be exact. Back to the time when the Ministry of Darkness still operated in the darkness, despite losing popularity and devout followers along the way. But there was one follower in particular that was most devout of all and stayed with us to the very end; a beautiful young girl named Angelique. A sweetheart, she was, so full of life and spirit. Just like you." Paul began, nodded in Ravenna's direction.

'Angelique had been with us since the beginning, going so far as to run away from home just to be a part of something bigger than herself. She went above and beyond herself to prove her devotion, never failing at anything... until she met a boy. A trouble making punk that you happen to call Rowan. When I saw him for the first time, I knew that there was something funny about him. There was something in his eyes that screamed 'trouble'. I tried to tell Angelique to stay away from him, but she was too smitten to take heed of the warnings. That little black haired punk had promised her the sun, the moon and the stars if only she would come away with him., And go away with him she did- after she became pregnant.

'She stayed hidden for months until we heard about a wedding taking place in Valentine, Texas. A wedding between a boy named Rowan Nokomis and a woman known only as Angela Gilchrist. No one else knew, but I knew it was her. She may have changed her name, but I knew that it was the same Angelique. I didn't want to, but I went to the wedding hoping to be proven wrong. And what did I see? I saw beautiful Angelique, who was now showing obvious signs of pregnancy, marrying your hell raising brother at just seventeen years old!" Bearer was starting to get a little worked up at this point, his face turning an angry red as he glared at Ravenna, who could only stare blankly at him as she processed what she was hearing.

'Your black haired punk of a brother married beautiful Angelique! He ruined her life by getting her pregnant with his baby! And now we have no idea where she is!" Paul's breathing hitched as he fought to regain enough composure to finish his tale. 'Your brother knew we were looking for them, and he made them disappear. Where he sent them... I wish I knew. And I may never again see the girl I had seen as my own daughter ever again." Everything was starting to fall into place after he finished. Ravenna looked to the ground, her expression quickly fading to that of shock as she remembered the loving wife of her brother, the woman who made him act like a lovestruck schoolboy whenever she was around.

'Angela... why didn't you say something?" Ravenna whispered as quietly as she could, closing her eyes and running her hands through her hair. 'We could have protected you better!" Bearer ignored Ravenna's musings and took a deep breath, smiling as he did.

'But now... now, it seems that we don't need Angelique after all. We have a way to settle our score with Rowan Nokomis. Who better to use against Rowan... than his very own twin sister." Ravenna's heart skipped a beat. 'You're strong, stubborn, and much more durable than the others that came before you. And if all goes well with this, Kane will finally have you as his new toy to play with. He's become quite fascinated with you ever since Rowan became the new champion." Ravenna's fists clenched as every muscle in her body tensed. If he thought for a split second that she was going to let them use her against Rowan, he had another thing coming his way.

'Go to hell, you son of a bitch! I'll never help you-" Ravenna was shocked again by the collar as she said this, but the anger that flowed through her veins gave her the strength to endure it. 'I... won't... betray my... brother!" Ravenna could take no more; she cried out and fell to her knees once again as her throat throbbed in agonizing pain. Bearer seemed pleased that Ravenna was no longer standing and released his hold on the shock button on the remote in his pocket.

'I don't think you quite understand, Miss Ravenna," Paul said, baiting the ebony haired Diva. 'You don't have a choice in the matter. You _**will**_ help us, whether you want to or not." Ravenna raised her head and stared at him defiantly.

'It'll be a cold day in Hell before I **ever** help you," Ravenna started, her unconcealed eye glittering in the bright overhead light. 'But if you think you can break me, go ahead and try it." Bearer gave her a long hard look before smirking again and making his way back to the door just beyond the fence.

'I suppose we'll just have to see about that, won't we?" he threw back. 'It's a good thing Kane enjoys a challenge!" With those words, he closed the door and left Ravenna in peace. She stayed rooted in place for a time breathing heavily. With a growl of purest rage, she punched the wall as hard as she could over and over again, ignoring the pain that followed. When she finally stopped, Ravenna's knuckles were a bloodied mess. She was certain that she could see the bones in a couple of places. It was looking like she was in need of some bandages, maybe even some pretty heavy taping when she got back into the ring... _if_ she got back in the ring.

Ravenna plopped down on the bed with a prolonged sigh, completely disregarding the blood falling from her hands onto the floor. The severity of the situation was sinking in at last; with this collar on her neck and that fence standing in her way, the chances of escape were slim. Even if by some miracle she managed to get out of this room, there still was Kane to contend with. She was painfully reminded of how futile her attempts to escape from his crushing grasp earlier that night (Was it even nighttime anymore?). She'd seen how Rowan and Eugene had fared against him. For all she knew, they could be seriously hurt right now or worse...

'No, no," Ravenna chastised herself. 'You can't think like that. They're fine. They're strong guys. They'll be OK." Despite her best efforts to reassure herself, Ravenna didn't believe her own words. _You've been in worse situations than this. You survived that, and you'll survive this too._

Ravenna suddenly recalled the window in the bathroom. It looked wide enough for her to get through, didn't it? She stood up and wandered back into the bathroom. Without thinking, Ravenna closed the lid of the toilet and climbed up on it to take a closer look at the window. Sure enough, appearances weren't deceiving- the window looked just wide enough for Ravenna to fit her shoulders through with ease. The only problem with this possible escape route was getting the window open.

The scratchy material of the collar around her neck also presented a problem; more than likely, it was programmed to go off should she make it out of the confined space. Ravenna quickly decided that it was a risk she didn't want to take when she got out of here. The first order of business was to get the damn thing off of her before she was sent through the roof from the shocks themselves. With that in mind, Ravenna climbed down from the toilet and began rummaging around in the bathroom. She didn't put it past Paul or Kane not to have removed anything that Ravenna could use against her captors, but she hoped that they had overlooked something useful.

The medicine cabinet was bare except for gauze and medical tape. Well, at least they left something for her to patch herself up with. Ravenna took a moment to wash the blood off her hands carefully before using a nearby hanging towel to dry them. After she'd applied both to her satisfaction, Ravenna replaced both and continued her search. The nearby linen closet housed several towels, wash cloths, bars of soap, some shampoo and conditioner. Ravenna frowned. Nothing of use here.

She was about to give up completely until she spied a cabinet under the sink. Praying quietly to whoever was listening to her at the moment, Ravenna knelt and opened the door slowly only to find nothing. Nothing, that is, until she spied something shining in the far back. She reached back inside and touched something cold and made of metal. Ravenna slid it in her direction and smiled in satisfaction. So they _had_ overlooked something after all!

Her eyes widened and horrible memories flooded her mind as she looked at what she had pulled from the back of the cabinet. There, not so much as riddled with rust, was a razor blade. The blade looked almost identical to the instruments used to cause her scars... For a brief moment, Ravenna was no longer in the bathroom, held captive by Kane and Paul Bearer. No, Ravenna was not there, but back in Seattle, Washington. She was once again frightened little girl desperately fighting off her attacker brandishing red hot razorblades, screaming in agony as the cut through her skin like a hot knife through butter while her mother laughed hysterically in the background...

It took everything in Ravenna to pull herself back to reality, to frantically remind herself that it was all in the past, just like Rowan said. But no matter what she did, the memories kept coming back. With a shaking hand, Ravenna touched the left side of her face concealed by the black veil. Echoing throughout her mind were the screams of Ravenna as a child. _Don't! Please stop! PLEASE STOP!_ Ravenna covered her ears, hanging her head.

'Stop, please stop," she repeated quietly, rocking back and forth. She could almost feel the agonizing pain, almost smell the scent of burnt flesh as the blades cut deeper and deeper into her skin...

Just as quickly as it had began, it ended. The sounds of her past faded to silence and the artificial pain receding as through it never existed. Ravenna slowly returned to the present, the blackness that had covered her eyes slowly slipping away until she was once again staring at the offending object. Cursing under her breath, Ravenna seized the blade and stood from where she knelt, her knees cramping from having held that position for so long. Without another thought, she hid the blade under her pillow. _Now I've got a way to get this thing off of me,_ Ravenna thought, trying to preoccupy herself with that knowledge as she continued to breathe deeply.

She knew she'd have to be very, very inconspicuous when removing the collar. Ravenna ran her hand around the collar slowly, thinking of where the best place to start cutting would be. The back of her neck was the most obvious choice, but it was also the most dangerous. One false move and she could easily hurt herself. And Ravenna knew just how much damage these little things were capable of...

Ravenna considered this as she sat down on the bed again, then let her mind wander to the mirror in the bathroom. Perhaps she could use the mirror to see what she was doing? No, she decided. It wasn't worth the risk of causing potentially severe injuries. She'd have to work from the side. To prevent anyone from suspecting anything, Ravenna decided to cut only a little at a time. Maybe a centimeter or two at most. She could let down her hair and hang it over her shoulder when she got closer to cutting it off completely.

With this in mind, Ravenna scooted further back on the bed until she was leaning against a wall. Sighing, she closed her eyes with the intentions of dozing for a few minutes, but the light kept her from falling into a deeper slumber. Not that she wanted to at that. _A few minutes surely couldn't hurt,_ Ravenna thought. _Just a few minutes..._

She would find herself wishing that she didn't decide to.

 

* * *

 

 

Bearer had just finished putting the roast into the oven and washing up the dishes when he finally opened the laptop Kane had let him use. Setting it atop the counter, he typed in a web address and patiently waited for it to finish loading before signing in to the email account that Kane had helped set up earlier that evening. More than likely, Rowan and Eugene were both being treated in some hospital after their assault. Paul figured he would have 24 hour window to cover their tracks before either of them had a chance to alert the authorities. If all went well, no one would suspect anything amiss anytime soon. He just had to assure that they had enough time to formulate their plan with the girl downstairs.

The email account was finally open and ready to be used after a couple seconds. He slipped a pair of thick eyeglasses onto his face before glancing down at the letter he had drafted earlier that day. First things first, he had to make sure that no one would be expecting Ravenna back anytime soon. It took him a minute to get used to the touch pad (He couldn't see how Kane was able to use it), but Bearer managed to move the cursor onto the space reserved for the recipient's email and quickly typed in a name.

_Linda McMahon_

Thankfully, her email popped up along with her name. You just had to love the internet sometimes. Hitting tab a couple of times, he soon had the cursor on the subject line.

_Health Problems_

Bearer had decided that this was the best choice of excuses for Ravenna's absence as she rarely had injuries. Well, she did, but nothing too horribly serious. She was much too tough for that.

_Stephanie,_

_I'm not sure if Rowan got around to telling you, but unfortunately, I will not be returning to work for an indefinite amount of time. I seem to have contracted pneumonia_ (Bearer almost decided against this, but if what he heard was true about Ravenna, she did have a history of having a weak immune system.) _. I wanted to let you know earlier before I left, but didn't get a chance. I must have passed out or something because I woke up in the hospital sometime later. I've asked my physician to write you a letter explaining more and to update you on my condition. Don't worry: I won't be gone long. I'll be back in the ring fighting again before you know it._

_Thanks for the understanding,_

_Ravenna Nokomis_

Bearer glanced over the email one more time, adding a couple things here and there to give it more of an authentic feel, before he clicked send and smiled in satisfaction as he signed out of the account. He would type up a physician's note later after dinner. The older man turned away from the computer and went about finishing mixing up a pitcher of iced tea when he heard heavy footsteps coming down from upstairs. Kane emerged from the open door sometime later, ignoring his father as he deposited whatever he had been carrying under his arm to the laundry room down the hall.

'Everything's going well, I hope?" Bearer asked cheerfully. Kane never so much as acknowledged him as he returned and retrieved the black laptop from the counter before he made his way to the nearby breakfast nook. Paul shrugged and went about his business If Kane wanted him to know what was going through his mind, he would tell him on his terms. Kids these days. He put the pitcher into the refrigerator and sauntered over to take a seat across from Kane, reaching for the book he'd been reading all evening by Dean Koontz. That man was a remarkable writer. He could come up with the best stories Paul had ever read.

Speaking of stories...

'You know, I've been thinking," Paul continued conversationally, catching Kane's attention for a brief moment before his misallied eyes looked back to whatever he was doing on the computer. 'You've been divorced for about, what was it? Two years?" Kane nodded, a sign for Bearer to get on with whatever reason he'd concocted for bringing up the topic. 'Well, Lita wasn't all that bad, but even you have to admit that you didn't have much in common with her. But Ravenna... now there's one that you could get along better with. She's young, beautiful inside and out, strong-"

'She looks too much like her brother." Honestly, what reason did Bearer have for being so interested in his personal life?

'Well, that's true, but I think if you could tame her wild side that that could be looked over, don't you? You'd be a lot happier with a new friend to keep you company when I'm away and this place could use a woman's touch." Bearer tried to imagine how Ravenna would be living with Kane and himself. Despite seeing the house in shambles and possibly some blood shed here and there, it didn't look all that bad from his perspective. He shook his head. No, a lot of work was going to need to be put into her to make sure that didn't happen.

'Maybe," Kane said, closing the laptop and pushing it aside in favor of taking a book from the pile that had accumulated over the past week. Paul had a point, even if Kane would never verbally admit it.

He'd heard of Ravenna long before he'd even faced her brother in the ring for the first time. When she debuted as a WWE Diva, Ravenna gained almost instant fame by defeated Trish Stratus in under a minute with the Widowmaker. Many had tried to engage her in conversation afterwards, but she never spoke in return, only nodded or shook her head in response. It was almost as if she didn't like talking at all.

Kane lost interest in her, or so he'd thought, until the Big Show began recounting tales of how Ravenna dominated the entire Diva's division. No one dared challenge her for fear of retribution. They eventually moved Ravenna to ECW, who promptly sent her right back. He didn't know why, but there was some rumors floating around that an incident involving Ravenna and several others which resulted in many going to the hospital. So she remained on the roster until Mr. McMahon sent her to TNA for one night every other week just to give her some new competition. Her reputation for not letting her opponent out of the ring without some form of injury followed her wherever she went. It was strange though that she still hadn't managed to get herself in the championship match for the Women's Title. He figured that it was because of her refusal to lose even if someone was scheduled to win against her. Chances were that the title wouldn't go anywhere for several months, possibly years if she got her hands on it. Still though... If that didn't spark any interest in her, he didn't know what would.

His mind returned to Bearer's remark about Ravenna being a better match for him than Lita. Her betrayal had hurt him deeply, especially after things were starting to get better between them. But as much as he hated to confess, Kane did miss having someone sleeping next to him at night. He'd almost forgotten what it was like not to sleep alone. Ravenna was a beautiful girl, even if she hid one side of her face. He knew and saw this... but that stubborn streak of hers was going to have to go before anything got started with them, _if_ anything got started with them. He didn't want a repeat performance after Lita. A lot was going to have to change before he even entertained the thought of Ravenna being more than just an instrument against Rowan. A small smile crossed his face.

No doubt breaking and bending her to his will would be more than a tremendous amount of fun, as well.

 

* * *

 

 

_DON'T! PLEASE DON'T CUT ME AGAIN!_

_You're weak just like all the others! You're nothing but a pathetic little bitch!_

_PLEASE STOP! YOU'RE HURTING ME!_

_What's the matter? I thought you were a tough girl? You should have been smothered you the day you were born!_

_HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!_

_You'll never be anything, do you hear me? No one will ever love you! No one will ever call you pretty! And you'll have me to thank!_

_ROWAN! HELP ME! BIG BROTHER, HELP ME!_

Ravenna shot up from her bed with a start, gasping and feeling like she had just escaped _something_. Shaking hands hid her face from the world and a sheen of cold sweat covered her body making her clothes stick to her uncomfortably. She took several deep breaths, fighting the violent shaking that took hold of her in the chilly room.

'It was just a dream..." she whispered. 'It was just another dream." Dream? More like nightmare. Her dreams were supposed to have been a reprieve from the hell surrounding Ravenna. But instead the unseen forces of the world had to be cruel and force her to remember the past. As if things were bad enough...

Ravenna groaned and swung her legs over the bed, not entirely sure she was ready to trust her legs to carry her to the bathroom. A hot soak sounded absolutely amazing right now... She dropped her hands to her lap and just sat there, her eyes readjusting to the darkness that now surrounded her. The lights must be controlled from somewhere else, for the single light bulb that hung from a cord above her was out. Despite the infinite black around her, Ravenna thought she saw something glinting in one corner of the room, close to the ceiling. From where she was sitting, it looked like the lens of a security camera.

'Seriously?" Ravenna thought out loud, staring directly at it. So they not only had her in a 'cell' and a shock collar on her neck, but they also installed a _security camera_? What, did Bearer and Kane think they were going to get a free show or something? Things just kept getting worse and worse.

The chilliness of the room made Ravenna shiver involuntarily. Rubbing her bare arms briskly, Ravenna stood from the bed and walked to the bathroom, making sure to flip off the camera as she went to add insult to the injury. _They deserve it anyways,_ Ravenna thought grumpily as she closed the door behind her and turned on the hot water after sticking the stopper for the tub in the drain. Quickly, she looked closer around the room to make sure there were no hidden cameras to spy on her.

To her relief, Ravenna found none as she began to shed her clothes, saving the facial covering for last as she retrieved a bottle of shampoo and conditioner, towels, a washcloth and soap before dispensing them onto the floor. After arranging everything the way she wanted, Ravenna turned off the water and made a move to get in until she stopped short. The collar. She couldn't take a bath with the collar on. She face palmed herself and shook her head. How could she have already forgotten? It looked like her neck was going to have to go unwashed for now.

Carefully, she lowered herself into the tub, grateful for a moment to herself. Ravenna had to force herself not to dip her head too far back as she wet her hair, hoping that she wouldn't get shocked from washing her hair. Death by electrocution wasn't exactly how she imagined herself going down. But no such thing happened as Ravenna washed her hair with the pleasant smelling shampoo, rinsing it until no more soap remained and applying the conditioner.

As she let the product do its work, Ravenna grabbed the soap and began scrubbing her face, avoiding her eyes as best as she could while trying not to drip too much water on the collar. It was itchy enough being dry, and Ravenna didn't even want to imagine what would happen if it was wet... She splashed water on her face a couple times and dried her pale complexion quickly before the water had a chance to drip down her throat.

She lost herself in her thoughts as Ravenna rinsed out the conditioner in her hair and let out the water only to refill it with clean water. No cameras in the bathroom meant that Ravenna would be able to cut the collar bit by bit without Bearer or Kane suspecting anything. That would also mean that she would be able to escape without them seeing her as well. A smug smile crossed her features as Ravenna contemplated this. Bearer and Kane had inadvertently done her a big favor.

Ravenna finished washing off her lithe body efficiently, sitting back in the water again as sleep threatened to take over her once again. Not wanting to take a risk in slipping down, Ravenna decided to pick up one of the towels and prop herself up on the edge, folding it up on her arms and resting her damp head upon it. It surely wouldn't hurt to doze for a few more minutes...

 

* * *

 

The bathroom door opened slowly and carefully, never making a sound as Kane crossed the threshold. Mixed eyes looked at the pile of clothes on the floor, reminding him of one of the reasons he'd come down in the first place. A large booted foot nonchalantly nudged them out the door, not really interested in handling them at the moment. Rather, he'd just noticed the nude form of the ebony haired girl that had propped herself up on the ledge of the tub.

Her deep breathing gave away that she was asleep, no doubt still exhausted. Every so often she would make a soft sound like she was having a bad dream, but never once did the young woman acknowledge that he was there. His eyes wandered over her bare shoulders, studying the pair of black raven wings that were forever inked into her skin. Kane wasn't one for tattoos, but these in particular were interesting enough to warrant a closer look. Absolutely silent despite his size, the seven foot tall man stood just inches away from the sleeping Diva. Her wet hair was fanned out on one side, keeping half of the tattoo hidden from his mixed gaze.

Carefully, he brushed aside the silken strands leaving the inked design exposed to his view. They were just as intriguing close up as they had been from afar; both wings began between her shoulder blades, and flared out towards either side. He took a seat beside her sleeping form on the tub's ledge, absently running his fingertips over the design, wondering at the smoothness of her skin. The young woman ( _Ravenna_ , he kept reminding himself that she had a name.) moaned softly but did not move away from his touch. A smirk crossed his face at such. She had absolutely no idea what an enticing position she'd placed herself in.

Feeling bolder, he ran his calloused palm up and over her arm, careful not to let his movements become too rough as to wake her. His hand trailed down her shoulder and back, stopping only when it almost came into contact with the water, and then traveled back upwards, sliding down and around to touch the side of her breast. Through it all, the woman remained quiet and still, never stirring from her slumber. Thick fingers found their way between the towel and found a hardening nipple, rolling it between long digits until it was a hard little nub.

The wom- _Ravenna's_ breathing hitched at this, and Kane withdrew his hand, only to slide it down from her chest to the intimate place between her legs, stroking the soft wet skin there, one finger slipping between the folds. A moan escaped her when he did this, and he felt his body tighten with arousal as all of the new possibilities flooded his mind. He allowed himself one last touch before finally withdrawing his hand completely, not wanting to take anymore risk in waking her up. She needed her sleep anyways, though the tub probably wasn't the best place for that. Not really knowing what he was going to say if she woke up and not caring what she had to say about his presence at that, Kane reached under the water and pulled up the plug from the drain before setting it aside. He waited until the water was completely drained before wrapping the other towel around Ravenna before lifting her with ease into his arms.

It amazed him that throughout it all, Ravenna never awoke. Either she was a really deep sleeper, or she was just exhausted beyond belief. The tantalizing idea of using such to his advantage festered for a moment- _just_ for a moment- but no, no. That could wait until a little later, once she figured out who was in charge around her. Personally, he didn't care if he earned her trust or not. All Ravenna was to him was a tool to use against Rowan. Whether or not she became anything else was based solely on her behavior and how useful she proved to be. He wouldn't take any responsibility or feel any remorse for courses of action he had to take to ensure her obedience.

Kane thought of this as he laid Ravenna down in her bed, brushing aside her hair from the right side of her face. She looked... _innocent,_ for lack of a better word, in her sleep. The kind of innocence that reminded him of someone... Kane's smile faded away into a scowl. He didn't like the memory that was emerging from his past at the sight of Ravenna sleeping so peacefully. He turned away from her and stalked over to the pile of clothes he had kicked out of the bathroom and picked them up, taking another glance at the sleeping girl on the bed. Near the end was a change of clothes that he found in her bag that one of the men whom his father had paid to catch her in the first place had brought sometime earlier that night. Normally, he would have just let her go without clothes, but the constant cold down here... She was of no use to him if she was sick. Ravenna needed to be in perfect health for what he had in store for her. Another sick grin crossed his features as he walked out of the enclosed space, padlocking the door back into place.

Oh yes, he was most definitely going to enjoy breaking and bending this girl to his will.


	7. First Attempt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A rather awkward dinner with Kane, Paul Bearer, and Ravenna doesn't go according to plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter has a tiny torture scene that may be offensive to some. It's pretty mild compared to what's coming later. You've been warned!

A loud groan escaped from Rowan as he thrashed about in his sleep, faintly aware of someone calling his name followed by frantic shouts for doctors and nurses. He let out a confused sound; what was going on? Where was he? What happened? Rowan tried to raise an arm, tried to clear the fog that made it difficult for him to think clearly. His head pounded, amplifying every sound until he was screaming in agony, pleading with whoever was causing the noise to stop before his head exploded...

There was a short, but sharp, pain in his left arm. Gradually the sounds faded into blissful silence and his thrashing ceased soon after. Rowan, who had previously been trying to open his eyes, suddenly felt the inescapable pull of sleep and gave up his violent fighting. The nurse beside him released a sigh of relief as she gently moved his disheveled hair out of his face. Poor fellow; he'd been in and out of it from the moment he arrived. The doctors had been shocked to find severe swelling about his brain, more than likely caused by blunt force trauma. Since then, they'd ordered that he'd remain heavily sedated so that his body would concentrate on reducing it. Now she was being told to not let him get anywhere close to consciousness. The young woman suddenly understood why.

Blue eyes spared an equally sympathetic gaze at the second man on the opposite side of the room. He, at least, was sleeping peacefully. All he suffered were horrific bruises on his neck caused by a very large person, more than likely a man. The hand print of the aforementioned man was still visible even from where she was standing. Internally, his vocal cords and trachea were so badly bruised that the doctors said it was a miracle that they weren't permanently damaged. What was it that could have possessed someone to damn near choke the man to death?

Whatever the reason was, she could not dwell upon it. There was still the contacting of both patients' next of kin to be done while the police were investigating the odd circumstances that landed both athletes in the hospital. She plucked a manila folder from the end of the ebony haired man's bed and flipped through it. Sure enough, there was an emergency contact list. It looked like she had 3 to choose from, all listed as brothers and sister respectfully. Hopefully she'd be able to get in touch with one of them and get some more insight on his medical history. The other man's family was going to be a little harder to contact; so far his uncle was not answering any of her calls.

The nurse took both folders from each man's bed and wandered back to her empty station. She'd keep trying nonetheless. Someone was bound to answer her eventually.

 

* * *

 

Ravenna had just finished dressing in her dark purple plaid skirt reached her knees and the Litchi Hikari Club shirt that hugged her fit frame and ample bosom and was currently brushing out her long black hair with the comb she'd managed to find in the linen closet close by. On the counter, she had the silver razorblade waiting. Ravenna decided that now was as good a time as any to start on removing the collar. Satisfied that her hair was no longer sticking up in every direction, she set down the comb and double checked to make sure the door was locked before she took the blade into her hand.

Ravenna did her best to still the shaking of her hand, holding off the memories associated with this tiny piece of metal as she carefully raised it to the coarse nylon of the collar, slowly cutting it. Ravenna instead forced herself to think about the strange circumstances in which she had awoken. She'd been shocked to find herself with only a towel around her body and even more frightened when she'd noticed a strange wetness between her legs that wasn't there before. Ravenna's first big scare was the possibility that she'd been raped in her sleep, but after careful inspection (in the bathroom of course), Ravenna assured herself that no such thing had occurred. She wasn't sore or having a hard time walking, which was a relief. Still, the fact that someone had had the audacity to carry her out of the bathroom partially naked...

It was even more infuriating to know that that someone was Kane.

She hissed in pain as the corner of the blade nicked her neck, officially bringing Ravenna back to the present. As if the memories weren't bad enough... Ravenna stopped cutting abruptly, opening the medicine cabinet and hiding the blade under a pile of bandages. Hopefully, Kane and Bearer wouldn't think to look under there if they got suspicious. She stole a glance to herself in the mirror, observing the nick. It was no bigger than the tip of a pin but damn was it bleeding like no tomorrow. It amazed Ravenna that the tiniest wounds always seemed to let out more blood than needed. She only hoped it didn't trickle down enough to stain her favorite shirt.

Black hair swayed as Ravenna shook her head and turned to leave the bathroom. She didn't want to stay in there long enough to make someone wonder what was going on. Slowly Ravenna turned the handle and opened the door...

And almost wished that she could jump out the window right then and there.

There, waiting with his back against a wall, was Kane. Ravenna froze in mid-step, unsure how or if she should proceed over the threshold. Her right hand still held the gold doorknob in a vise grip, arm tensed to slam the door again. But a simple wooden door would provide little protection and even less resistance in holding off a man of Kane's size. If he really wanted to, Ravenna knew without a shadow of a doubt that he could reduce the door to kindling in order to get to her. Her heart raced as she weighed and reweighed possible courses of actions and their consequences. Ravenna could close the door and attempt to get out the window, but for how long would the door withstand Kane? She could make a break for the gate's door, but there was no way she was opening it without getting some nasty cuts and infections. Dread filled her gut as Ravenna realized that either way, Kane had her trapped.

She drew a shaky breath and came out slowly, formulating a plan best she could given the circumstances. Ravenna started to walk towards the bed, but quickly decided against it. Oh no, there was no way out of hell she was giving him _any_ ideas of that form. _I'd much rather get out of this with my virtue intact, thank you very much._ Ravenna played it safe and stood a few feet away from Kane, keeping as much distance between herself and the seven foot man as possible. Neither said a word to each other for a good five minutes.

'Anyone tell you that you sleep too much?" Kane suddenly asked, walking closer to Ravenna. The dark haired Diva took a step back instinctively but Kane just stalked right after her.

'So what if I do? It's not like I have anything better to do," Ravenna snapped, keeping her eyes on Kane the entire time. Anger flashed in those mismatched orbs of his. 'And what possessed you to come down and question my sleeping habits anyways?"

'Like you said, it's not like I have anything better to do," Kane replied with a grin, effectively backing Ravenna against the opposite wall and placing his hands on either side of her face. Ravenna blinked and glanced away from his stare, biting her lower lip nervously. So much for not giving him any ideas...

'Did I say you could look away?" he growled, grabbing Ravenna's pale face and forcing her to look back at him. Ravenna's eyes remained averted from his, refusing to look at him. 'Look at me... Ravenna. Don't make me have to hurt you." At that Ravenna glanced up at him, surprised to find his face mere inches from hers. For God's sake, did he have to be _that_ close to her? And that breath! Ravenna tried to jerk her head away from Kane, but that would more than likely end with her having a broken jaw. And Ravenna didn't put it past Kane to deny her medical attention if need be. Dark eyes connected with his and held that cold stare of Kane's fearlessly and stubbornly.

'If you came down here to say something to me, then tell me what it is or get the hell out," Ravenna hissed once Kane pulled back from her face, still not relinquishing his hold on her.

' _You're_ not the one in charge anymore, Ravenna," Kane was quick to point out. His eyes wandered down to the collar around her neck and smirked in satisfaction. 'Until I say otherwise, you're **my** property." Ravenna gritted her teeth in anger, her fists clenching and shaking. She contemplated attempting to knock him out, but she knew that was too big of a gamble. Even if Ravenna did manage to land a blow or two, it would only serve to piss off the Big Red Monster. And God only knew what he would do to her then. She wisely decided not to take that risk.

'Then you'd best indulge yourself with that thought as long as you can. My brother **will** find me, and when he does, you're going to _regret_ this!" Ravenna growled. Kane only laughed heartlessly at that.

'Are you so sure about that?" he asked with an amused grin. Ravenna's lip twitched as she took a slightly shakier breath and released it, a long strand of hair falling over an equally dark eye.

'I'm _very_ sure about that." Kane's grin vanished as quickly as it had appeared, his brow furrowing in apparent anger. 'Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hit a nerve?" Ravenna asked, batting her eyes. He wasn't the only one that knew how to get to under someone's skin. The hand that had held her face seconds before was on her throat in an instant, blood running right to Kane's face. Hit a nerve? More like poked the beast one too many times and earned a one way ticket to a world of pain. Ravenna grabbed the hand that was currently threatening to choke the life out of her, but otherwise showed no fear. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

'You think you're so cute, don't you?" he said through gritted teeth. 'You and your brother are _too_ much alike; you both think it's fun to underestimate _**me**_. I don't doubt that your twin is going to come looking for you. And I don't doubt that I **will** destroy him and make his life a living hell before sees his pretty sister's neck snap right in front of him.

'Unless," all indications that Kane had been angry faded as quickly as it had appeared, and his free hand had raised to her face, beginning to stroke her hair from Ravenna's pale complexion. 'Unless you can convince me **not** to." His thick fingers toyed with the strand that had fallen into her face slowly, wondering at the way the light made it shine a beautiful midnight blue. A look of pure disgust crossed Ravenna's face when he said that. She didn't need to ask what kind of convincing Kane had in mind.

'The only _convincing_ you're getting from me is an ass kicking you'll never forget if you don't back the hell off," Ravenna spat fiercely, having had just about enough of this. Kane never even moved. He certainly had a death wish. Ravenna's muscles tensed all at once, her fists clenched so tightly that her nails were cutting into her skin.

Kane studied Ravenna's body language and smiled maliciously. Oh yes, he could see why countless others were so interested in this girl now. She was fierce, strong, and sexy as hell when anger contorted that pretty face of hers. And all without a trace of fear. He tucked the strand of hair he'd previously toyed with behind the delicate curve of her ear, the back of his hand caressing the smooth, uncovered right cheek.

'You know, I've always wondered why you wear black all the time. It's a pity if it's because you're not a virgin anymore." Kane was so tall, so imposing that he had to bend his head and torso to whisper into her ear. 'I've always wanted a virgin sacrifice, after all."

Something in Ravenna snapped as she raised her fist and put all of her strength into a punch straight to Kane's face... at least, that's what she was intending. Kane easily caught her swinging fist, pinning it along with her other wrist above her head. When Ravenna's arms were rendered useless, she used her second line of defense; her legs. With an angry grunt, she kicked him squarely in the crotch. Kane released her in favor of backing off, giving Ravenna a narrow opening of time to make a break for the gate. A sliver of hope ran through her when Ravenna saw that the padlock had not been locked properly.

Not wasting a second, she kicked open the door, a shrill alarm filling the stone basement and echoing off the walls. Ravenna ignored it and flung open the basement door, surprised that she'd yet to be shocked by the collar around her neck. Even if it had gone off, it wouldn't have stopped Ravenna. Pure adrenaline was coursing through her body, carrying her onwards up the flight of stairs and into a small hallway. Right behind her, Kane's angry footsteps that were thundering after her up the stairs sounded like those of a charging rhino. Quickly, she slammed the door shut and grabbed a nearby chair to jam under the doorhandle, praying that it would last long enough for her to get away.

Ravenna ran through an archway, not really caring where she was going as long as it led to a door that led away from this place. This one led her into a massive kitchen where the smells of something that wasn't too unpleasant wafted into her nose. But Ravenna could care less about what this place smelled like. Her ears were filled with the frantic beating of her heart which felt like it was about to beat right out of her chest. She nearly screamed when she heard the sound of wood splintering and Kane's enraged yells coming from the hall behind her.

'Oh no," she whispered, darting out of the kitchen and in the opposite direction of Kane's yells. There was another archway off to the far right. Please let it lead to the front door, please let it lead to the...

Dining room?

Ravenna stopped short in the doorway, seeing Paul Bearer in a rather domesticated manner setting the table. Realizing he was no longer alone, Bearer looked towards her with a smile.

'Good evening, Miss Nokomis," he said in a surprisingly polite tone, turning towards her. Ravenna backed up only to have her back connect with a hard body behind her. She didn't need to look behind her to guess who it was. 'I see you brought Kane with you. Good, I was just about to call for him too. Dinner is ready and served. It's nice of you to join us." Ravenna gulped audibly as she felt both of Kane's massive hands rest on her shoulders, squeezing them painfully. Ravenna's heart skipped more than just a few beats as she was pushed towards the dinner table where a chair was already pulled out for her. Kane forced her down roughly, earning a sharp glare from the younger Nokomis twin which he reciprocated. When Paul turned his back to them, Kane leaned down enough to whisper in Ravenna's ear.

'The only thing that's saving you is the fact that my father is in this room," he growled. 'But I don't care what he says; try something stupid, and I will make you  _regret_ it. Do you understand me?" Ravenna refused to answer. Kane gave her shoulder a threatening squeeze. 'Answer me..."

'Yes," Ravenna grumbled. Kane withdrew from her and stood to his full height to go to his own chair, which happened to be one seat away, close enough that he could reach out and touch her if he really wanted to. Ravenna didn't doubt that at some point, he would. And not in the good way.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when a rather large plate of steaming food was placed in front of her, along with a glass of sweet tea. Ravenna looked down at it curiously; slow roasted meat and potatoes with carrots and brown gravy. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her of how long it must have been since she ate. She didn't put it past them to have put something in her food, but damn did it smell good.

'I heard that Native Americans like roasts like this," Paul began conversationally, putting a similar plate down in front of Kane before taking one for himself and sitting opposite of his son. 'I believe it's the custom to always have a stew cooking and to replace whatever is taken out of it frequently, right?" Ravenna only stared at Paul Bearer before picking up a silver fork and stabbing a potato, tasting it. It wasn't actually that bad. Not near as good as her aunt Willow's...

'He asked you a question," Kane said in a warning tone, also digging into his meal. Ravenna shot him a glare before rolling her eyes.

'Yes, it is," she admitted. 'It's customary to greet guests with 'Have you eaten?" rather than hello." Paul nodded in interest.

'Interesting," he mused. 'From what tribe are you?"

_It doesn't matter what tribe I'm from._ 'Cherokee."

'The mountain people. An interesting bunch. They were the first tribe to have accepted the way of the white man, correct?"

'I wouldn't say that," Ravenna admitted, cutting off a piece of meat and chewing it. 'They had adopted the technology and cultural aspects, but not the ways of the whites." She had hoped that would end the conversation there about her heritage, but Bearer apparently thought otherwise."

'Maybe that is why you are part of the largest tribe," Bearer said.

' _Maybe_ we should leave my mother's race out of this," Ravenna answered, earning herself a sideways glare from Kane. 'I'd rather leave that can of worms alone."

'And what is it about your mother that makes you not want to talk about her race, may I ask?" Bearer pressed. Ravenna's anger bubbled to the surface, growing more and more irritated at this line of questioning.

'It's hardly any of anyone's business." Ravenna muttered curtly, swallowing the bit of food in her mouth. A pity that now what she had ate had formed into a hard lump in her stomach. She found that she couldn't really enjoy it anymore. She ignored Bearer and Kane exchanging looks before they turned their attention back to her.

'Alright... what about your father then? Who is he?" Ravenna didn't say anything for a long moment. 'Or do you not know him at all? I've heard that Native Americans believe in-"

'I know him and I don't talk to him, and not because I don't know the address or phone number for him." Ravenna snapped, gritting her teeth. 'It doesn't matter who he is..."

'It must matter if you're so defensive about it," Kane mentioned, wiping his mouth with a napkin. Ravenna's eye twitched in annoyance.

'He does have a point you know," Bearer pointed out. He said something else, but Ravenna wasn't paying attention anymore. Her deadly gaze instead had settled on the knife she'd previously been using to cut her meat. It look just sharp enough to do some serious damage...

'I have to ask though," Bearer's voice returned, bringing Ravenna somewhat back to the present. 'Is is true that he's part of the Boards of Directors? I heard one of them had children who were competing in the WWE. I believe his name is-" Ravenna's blood boiled. 'Tristan McGillicutty?" Something- indeed the same something that had caused her to snap downstairs- broke once again, and all at once Ravenna's eyes settled on the portly Paul Bearer. Glancing briefly to the knife on the table and back at him, Ravenna decided she'd had enough. With lightening quickness, she picked up the knife and hurled it at Bearer before jumping out of her chair and making a break for the kitchen. She'd thought she'd spied a glass door that led out of the house when she'd ran through it. A small smile crossed her face when she saw that it was indeed true.

Just a few feet away from her was a sliding glass door. Beyond that was an expanse of woodland. Ravenna charged right towards the door, not caring about opening it. Instead, she threw herself right through the glass, shielding her face and neck with her arms. Ravenna fell to the ground with a groan before stumbling to her feet and making a break for the treeline.

She had almost reached them when it happened; a strong, powerful shock that tore through her throat, sending Ravenna tumbling to the ground gasping for air. _No! I'm not going back!,_ Ravenna vowed, dragging herself towards the woods. _They're not taking me back!_ Dark eyes looked behind her, seeing the angry form of Kane stalking right towards her. Even from so far away, Ravenna could hear his angry breathing, see and feel the rage that oozed from his pores. Rage that was threatening to suffocate her with its intensity...

Fighting through the pain, Ravenna attempting in vain to tear the collar from her neck while trying desperately to drag herself away from the Big Red Monster until the pain was just too much and she collapsed back to the ground. She couldn't have gone an inch further when her hair was roughly pulled up and back away from the woods.

'Nice try Ravenna," Kane laughed coldly, wrapping a heavy arm around her waist and dragging her back towards the house. 'But you're _**not**_ getting away that easy."

'Go to hell, you son of a bitch!" Ravenna screamed, her voice hoarser than she would have liked. That shock collar was damn good at its purpose. Kane only squeezed her tighter when Ravenna would have wriggled free, laughing at her pain when Ravenna struggled for breath. He'd never admit it, but Kane was impressed by Ravenna's escape attempt. It wasn't everyday that he was damn near brought to his knees by a woman. That throbbing pain in his nether regions would last for quite some time before subsiding. But as calm as he may have appeared, inside Kane was seething with rage. Was this girl _insane_ for throwing a knife at his father right _in front_ of him? Didn't she understand that what he meant by her being his property? Well tonight she would learn. He'd make sure of it. And after tonight, she'd think twice before running from him again.

Ravenna, however, had other ideas. The second he was stepping through the shattered glass door, Ravenna managed to slip away again and attempt to run back towards the woods. This time her agility failed her and Ravenna was suddenly away of several pieces of glass that were embedded into her legs. The adrenaline rush more than likely numbed her to the sharp little pains in her calves and shins. Damn, it's a wonder that her feet weren't cut all to hell either; she'd scarcely noticed that her feet were bare. Nonetheless, Ravenna tried to run but was grabbed by her hair and forcefully thrown into the house.

'I suggest you stop trying my patience," Kane said through gritted teeth his hand closing around her throat in a vice grip. Ignoring her struggles for air, he started for another part of the house that was closed off from the rest by a large steel door. Ravenna stopped struggling long enough to see that he was not going towards the basement as she had thought, but to a much darker and more menacing room. Her eyes widened as she made out shapes of chains hanging from the ceiling and other pieces of furniture that didn't look like anything she'd seen before. A small gasp escaped Ravenna before she could stop it, her struggling becoming more violent with renewed strength.

'No!" she screamed , Kane releasing her throat in favor of holding her once again by the waist with her arms pinned to her sides. 'Let me go, you bastard! Let go!"

'Maybe you should have thought things through before you ran from me," Kane whispered into her ear, laughing as he slammed the door closed. The house became eerily silent soon after, Ravenna's screams never making it past the steel door. But even as she watched the door close before her eyes, Ravenna continued to fight the arm that held her, the will to survive and see her brother again driving her. With near inhuman strength, she somehow managed to slip out of Kane's grasp and ran to the last place she had seen the door, feeling around frantically. The room was deathly silent save for Kane's cruel laughs. It was as though he found the whole situation to be the most humorous thing he'd ever seen...

_Damn it! Where's the fucking door_ _,_ Ravenna thought, grabbing anything that resembled a handle or latch, praying she got out before-

A strong hand grabbed her hair and pulled Ravenna back, ignoring her cries of pain and pleas for release from the hell she'd been forced into. Her head hit something hard, stars flashing before Ravenna's eyes as she tried to banish the pain. Faintly, she became aware of being pulled to an upright position, her arms being wrenched above her head by an unseen force. _It got so quiet in here,_ Ravenna thought, suddenly realizing that Kane's laughs had faded into the darkness itself...

The silence was broken by something whirring through the air before a sharp snap followed by a stinging pain in her back echoed. She gasped more out of surprise than actual pain, having been successfully caught off guard.

'Tell me Ravenna," Kane's voice said from somewhere behind her. 'What were you thinking when you ran away? Where did you think you were going to go?" Ravenna remained silent. Bad mistake. Her back arched when she was hit again. Ravenna grit her teeth, realizing what he was doing to her. Kane was whipping her with the intent of hearing her scream for mercy. If he thought she was going to give him that kind of satisfaction, he was sadly mistaken. 'I asked you a question!" He hit her with the whip twice more before Ravenna forced herself to speak.

'I was thinking that I would rather burn in hell before I help you by betraying my brother," she hissed, unable to mask the pain in her voice. So this is what horses felt like when their trainers smacked them... An amused chuckle from the Big Red Monster made her wonder if that was the best choice of words. Ravenna thought that he would stop with the whipping, but she was wrong. Over and over, the whip connected with her back. She tried to contain her screams, not wanting to give Kane the satisfaction, but the longer he continued with the brutal torture the harder it became to remain silent. Her back felt wet and with every slap of the whip, Ravenna felt the wounds widen.

Just as suddenly as it began, the whipping stopped. Ravenna had a brief moment to catch her breath that was currently tearing in and out of her lungs before gasping in shock when something was poured onto her open wounds. Her body was suddenly assaulted with white hot pain as Ravenna twisted violently, arching her back reflexively. She shook, biting her lip to stop the screams of agony. Something equally cold was poured onto her next, efficiently soaking her from head to toe. The cuts from the whip continued to burn like hell, and her nose was filled with the horrible stench of gasoline.

_What the hell is this bastard thinking?_ , Ravenna thought, trying to pinpoint exactly where the seven foot giant was in the room. She didn't have to look too hard; his face was suddenly illuminated by a lighter, carefully adjusting the flame until he was satisfied with the brightness before bringing it close to her face. _First he whips me, then_ _poured gas on me. Now he's bringing a lighter into the mix..._

Oh. Shit.

Ravenna's blood ran cold as she recognized in horror what Kane's intentions were. She'd said she would rather burn in hell than help him. Kane was about to grant that wish. Ravenna tried to twist away from him, but the bonds that held her hands above her held good and she couldn't... couldn't get away from that fast approaching flame. Kane's misallied eyes never left her face, gauging her reaction as that tiny flame threatened to set her face covering alight. Ravenna steeled herself and glared back into that intense gaze of his. Pleased that he had her undivided attention, Kane lifted the lighter just inches away from her face.

'Your screams are beautiful, Ravenna. I wonder what they'll sound like if I set you on fire," Kane began, breaking his stare from Ravenna long enough to glance at the flame dancing before both of their eyes. 'But I'm not interested in causing any long term damage... _yet_. I've got too much planned for you." Ravenna wasn't sure if she heard him right. Her eyes narrowed in confusion. 'But the next time you run away, I swear to God... I **will** send you up in smoke." The orange glow from the lighter cast intimate shadows across Kane's face, seeming to illuminate his pale complexion. He looked much calmer, but Ravenna knew that could change in a flash. She started to ask what he meant, but wisely thought better of it. With her current luck, Ravenna would damn well say something that would land her in the burn unit in some hospital... provided she even got to one.

'Now I want you to listen, and listen good to every word I say; in case you haven't realized, I'm **not** someone that you can just walk over and think I'll let you get away with it. Consider yourself lucky that you actually got away with that little escape of yours _and_ for attacking my father." Kane started. Ravenna let herself relax slightly. At least he wasn't planning on burning her to a crisp anytime soon. However, though he may not be intending to at the present time, Ravenna was careful not to let her guard down too much. 'Paul will get his revenge on your brother some other time. As for me, I want  _my title_ back from him that he took... and he's going to pay dearly for that. And you're going to help me. Whether you want to... or... _not_." Ravenna blinked several times and decided to risk asking a question.

'Say that I did agree to help you, and I never said that. What _exactly_ will you do with me after?" she muttered, masking the trepidation in her voice. Kane smirked and stroked her cheek with his free hand.

'I haven't decided yet," Kane answered, making Ravenna more and more uneasy. 'It all depends on how good you behave for me." He brought his face close to hers, close enough that his lips brushed against hers as he talked. As close as he was, Ravenna was faintly aware of his natural scent, a tantalizing smell that she had no good description for. Against her will, she felt her body responding to the closeness. 'But running away from me and throwing knives _isn't_ what I call good behavior."

'What are you going to do then?" Ravenna couldn't help the fact that her lips were brushing against his, just as she couldn't help the fact that his scent was threatening to be her undoing. Damn Nature! Her body tensed when Kane withdrew the lighter at last, the flame dying out before he tossed it somewhere to the side. Both hands now free, he ran them up and down her sides, clearly testing her. On any other occasion, Ravenna would have just kicked him again in the forbidden zone just to make him back off, but that wasn't an option. As long as she was hanging here covered in gasoline, Ravenna couldn't take a risk in Kane going through with his original idea. _Maybe if I make him think that I'm going to do what he asks,_ Ravenna thought, formulating a quick plan. _Then I might, just might, be able to escape next time._ And so she grit her teeth and allowed the touches to continue until Kane decided that he'd had enough and pulled away. In the infinite black of the room, it was impossible to know for certain where Kane was exactly. She never even heard his retreating footsteps until the unmistakable sound of the door screeching broke the deafening silence.

'You're just leaving me here?" Ravenna cried. Kane stopped in his tracks and turned back to Ravenna, a sick smile crossing his pale features.

'What's the matter? Missing me already?" Ravenna eye twitched in annoyance. _In your dreams._ 'If you can prove that you can be a good girl, I'll give you another chance and let you out. For now, I'm giving you some time to think about what you did. But don't worry," Kane stepped over the threshold and started to close the door before he stopped. 'I promise I won't forget about you, _precious_."

'You bastard! You can't just leave me here!" Ravenna screamed, trying to jerk away from what was holding her upright, Kane's peals of laughter only serving to enrage her further. Once again, her yells of purest rage never made it past the steel door that was slammed and locked behind the Big Red Monster. Ravenna's breath was tearing in and out of her lungs as her body shook with anger. A loud scream escaped from her, wrath holding her in a death grip as Ravenna furiously jerked her arms to free them, stopping only when it felt like she was pulling something out of its socket.

After that attempt, she leaned back with the intentions of assessing what kept her captive, but shrieked in surprise when her aching back connected with nothingness. She swung back and forth for a second, her feet scrabbling to get a better grip on the floor. The more she moved her legs, however, the deeper the glass shards seemed to go. Ravenna started to bend down and remove them, but was stopped short by her tied hands.

'Son of a **bitch**!" Ravenna cried. Damn did those things hurt! It was bad enough that she was being held captive by a man probably more mentally unstable than herself, but this was just karma at its worse. Ravenna chewed her lip until it bled, trying to focus on something other than the stinging pain. _I know he has no regard for human life,_ Ravenna thought. _But the least he could have done was get these things out!_ As if he would. Just what was it that was making her think that he would want to do that after her little escapade? _Don't even think about putting on an act and promising the best sex of his life if he'd just do you a little favor._

At that thought, Ravenna couldn't help but hang her head in shame. Her body was still quivering from that brief contact that she'd had with Kane. A deep flush settled over Ravenna as she closed her eyes, trying to banish the memory from her mind. This was her captor! She had no business enjoying **anything** that Kane did to her! But there was the undeniable fact that he had a profound effect on her; the more Ravenna thought about him, the more uncomfortable she became as an unsettling wetness emerged between her legs. She shook her head. No, no. Ravenna couldn't give in to him. She had to stay strong for Rowan.

_Rowan…_ At the thought of her twin, Ravenna felt unfamiliar tears prickling her eyes. Where was he? Was he alright? And what about Eugene? Were they both looking for her? Ravenna couldn't know for certain.

'Rowan, please help me…" Ravenna whispered as her tears slipped down her cheeks, hoping against all odds that her twin was alright and was searching for her and by some miracle she could mentally lead him to her. 'Please don't forget about me again…" With this, Ravenna closed her eyes and allowed herself to do something she hadn't done in many years.

She prayed.

 

* * *

 

'Are you sure you've got everything under control?" Bearer asked for the fifteenth time in a row as he stood by the door. Kane nodded again, setting Bearer's brown suitcase down beside him and backing off to observe his father pulling on a long black jacket. Ever since he'd told the old man to leave the house after Ravenna's attempt to hurt him and take a long vacation, he'd been fretting over Kane. Something about how he was worried of Ravenna trying the same with Kane. He wanted to laugh at that; if she knew what was good for her, Ravenna would think twice about attacking him. Paul ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

'Alright well, if you're certain, then I'm off. I've got my cell phone and you've got the list of numbers you can call to reach me if you can't with one. I'll be back in three weeks." Bearer explained, picking up his luggage and opening the door before he looked back at his seven foot tall son. 'And Kane?" Misallied eyes blinked and held his gaze. 'Try not to cause too much damage. It'd be a shame to see her loveliness marred with scars." Kane nodded again, unable to contain his impatience as Bearer finally crossed the threshold.

'Have fun!" His father called back as he neared the yellow cab waiting for him. Kane just shook his head and closed the door, sliding the deadbolt home and latching the small gold chain into its slot. He couldn't help but grin at Paul's last words. Fun didn't even begin to describe how these three weeks were going to be. With his father gone, Kane wouldn't have to find creative ways of muffling any screams or cries for help from the black haired girl in the room under the stairs. He could inflict as much pain as he pleased without his father scolding him later. Not that he would care anyways.

Kane pondered this as he sauntered into the darkened study of his home, observing the monitor on a nearby stand. Sure enough, Ravenna was still hanging there with her head bowed down to her chest. His grin widened as Kane left the room and walked slowly towards the metal door. Ravenna was obstinate and tenacious by nature. No one had a snowball's chance in hell of breaking or overpowering her, rumor had it.

It was time to put that rumor to the test.


End file.
